News Brief
By Lyu Weiyi
Ding Liren, a Chinese chess player from Zhejiang province, has made a history by reigning the FIDE World Chess Champion in the 2023 World Championship.
Ding is always gentle and humble in his daily life, but over the chessboard, the quiet young man shows a different side -- playing as instantly as a thunderstorm.
As a main player of the Chinese men's chess team, Ding has won various domestic chess tournaments. Yet, this international victory was not an easy feat. Ding had a thrilling and tumultuous struggle before defeating his powerful opponent, the Russian player Ian Nepomniachtchi.
In the beginning, Ding was not in his best status, which led doubts to his abilities until he stood his ground by winning the second match.
The 14-round match ended in a draw, after which these two excellent contestants reached a stalemate in three extra sets. Eventually, in the fourth rapid tie-break, the decisive game, Ding took the last chance to catch his opponent's lethal mistake and cornered him within 68 moves.
Ding's triumph marks the first time a Chinese male chess player had reached the pinnacle of the chess world. Simultaneously, his victory demonstrates the actual strength of the four-step chess strategy proposed by China thirty years ago.