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Ding Liren facts for kids

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Ding.
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Ding Liren
DingLiren24a.jpg
Ding in 2024
Country China
Born (1992-10-24) 24 October 1992 (age 32)
Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
Title Grandmaster (2009)
World Champion 2023–2024
FIDE rating 2791 (August 2025)
Peak rating 2816 (November 2018)
Ranking No. 1 (April 2023)
Peak ranking No. 2 (November 2021)
Chinese name
Chinese 丁立人
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin Dīng Lìrén
IPA [tíŋ lîɻə̌n]
Wu
Romanization Tin1 Liq5 nyin3

Ding Liren (Chinese: 丁立人; born on October 24, 1992) is a Chinese chess grandmaster. He was the 17th World Chess Champion from 2023 to 2024. Ding is also a three-time Chinese Chess Champion.

He was part of the Chinese chess teams that won the Chess Olympiads in 2014 and 2018. Ding was the first Chinese player to compete in a Candidates Tournament. He was also the first Chinese player to reach an Elo score above 2800. In July 2016, he was the world's top-rated Blitz player. In July 2023, he became the No. 1 ranked Rapid player.

Ding had an amazing 100-game unbeaten streak in classical chess. This lasted from August 2017 to November 2018. It was the longest streak in top-level chess history for a while. He became the World Chess Champion in 2023. He won by defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi in a thrilling match. He lost his title to Gukesh Dommaraju in 2024.

Early Life and Learning Chess

Ding was born in Wenzhou, China. He started learning chess when he was just four years old. He went to Wenzhou Zhouyuan Elementary School. Later, he graduated from Zhejiang Wenzhou High School. He also studied at Peking University Law School.

Ding's Chess Journey

Ding has won the Chinese Chess Championship three times. These wins were in 2009, 2011, and 2012. He has played for China in four Chess Olympiads. He helped his team win gold medals in 2014 and 2018. He also won individual medals.

In 2015, he won team gold and individual silver at the World Team Championships. He also won the 2019 Grand Chess Tour. He beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the finals. He also won the 2019 Sinquefield Cup, defeating Magnus Carlsen.

2015–2019: Rising Star

In August 2015, Ding became one of the top 10 players in the FIDE World Rankings. He was the second Chinese player to do this. In July 2016, he was the world's highest-rated Blitz player. His rating was 2875.

After finishing second in the Chess World Cup 2017 in September 2017, he made history. He became the first Chinese player to qualify for a Candidates Tournament. This tournament decides who challenges the World Champion. At the Candidates Tournament 2018, he finished 4th. He was the only player who did not lose a single game.

In September 2018, Ding became the first Chinese player to reach an Elo rating of over 2800. By November, his rating was 2816. This was one of the highest ratings ever recorded. He was ranked 4th in the world that month.

In August 2019, Ding tied for first place at the Sinquefield Cup. He then won the tournament by beating Magnus Carlsen in a playoff. In October 2019, he qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2020–21. This was his second time finishing second in the Chess World Cup 2019. He also won the 2019 Grand Chess Tour finals.

2020–2023: Road to World Champion

In March 2020, Ding played in the Candidates Tournament 2020–2021. He had a tough start but finished in 5th place. In 2022, Ding won the Chessable Masters. He even beat Magnus Carlsen in the semi-finals.

Ding qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2022 in a special way. He had not been able to travel much due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese Chess Association helped him play enough games to qualify. He finished second in the Candidates Tournament.

Later that month, the reigning World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, decided not to defend his title. This meant Ding, as the second-place finisher, would play against Ian Nepomniachtchi for the title. This was for the World Chess Championship 2023.

In January 2023, Ding played in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023. His rating dropped below 2800 after this tournament.

World Champion (2023–2024)

World Chess Championship 2023
Rating Classical games Points Rapid games Total
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) 2795 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 7 ½ ½ ½ 0 8½
 Ding Liren (CHN) 2788 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 7 ½ ½ ½ 1 9½

In April 2023, Ding and Nepomniachtchi played for the World Championship title. Their classical games ended in a 7–7 tie. Ding then won the match in rapid tiebreaks. He became the first Chinese player to be the World Chess Champion. After this, Ding took a break from tournaments for nine months. He mentioned he was dealing with some health challenges.

Ding returned to playing in January 2024. He finished ninth at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024. In March, he played in the Grenke Chess Classic. He finished 5th out of 6 players. In May–June, Ding played in Norway Chess. He finished last in this tournament. He did not win any classical games there. In September, Ding played for China at the 45th Chess Olympiad. He did not win a single game and fell out of the top 20 rankings.

World Chess Championship 2024
Rating Match games Points
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
 Gukesh Dommaraju (IND) 2783 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 7½
 Ding Liren (CHN) 2728 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 0 6½

Before the World Chess Championship 2024 match, many people thought Ding would not win. This was because of his recent struggles. Ding himself said he wasn't playing as well as before. He lost the championship to Gukesh Dommaraju with a score of 6½ to 7½. Even after losing, Ding said he would keep playing chess.

Notable Games

This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
Bai Jinshi vs. Ding Liren, 2017
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
8 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black rook 8
7 {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} white queen {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black bishop {{{square}}} white knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 7
6 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black bishop {{{square}}} black king 6
5 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white bishop {{{square}}} black king 5
4 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black knight {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white king {{{square}}} black king 4
3 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn 3
2 {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king 2
1 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white bishop {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white rook 1
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Position after 32...Ne5+
  • Bai Jinshi vs. Ding Liren, Chinese League, 2017. In this game, Ding played very aggressively. He made moves that seemed risky but led to a forced checkmate.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 0-0 5.Bg5 c5 6.e3 cxd4 7.Qxd4 Nc6 8.Qd3 h6 9.Bh4 d5 10.Rd1 g5 11.Bg3 Ne4 12.Nd2 Nc5 13.Qc2 d4 14.Nf3 e5 15.Nxe5 dxc3 16.Rxd8 cxb2+ 17.Ke2 Rxd8 18.Qxb2 Na4 19.Qc2 Nc3+ 20.Kf3 Rd4 21.h3 h5 22.Bh2 g4+ 23.Kg3 Rd2 24.Qb3 Ne4+ 25.Kh4 Be7+ 26.Kxh5 Kg7 27.Bf4 Bf5 28.Bh6+ Kh7 29.Qxb7 Rxf2 30.Bg5 Rh8 31.Nxf7 Bg6+ 32.Kxg4 Ne5+ (diagram) 0–1

Personal Life

Ding's mother often travels with him. In an interview in February 2024, he mentioned having problems sleeping. In November 2024, he said he was not enjoying his work as much and had psychological problems.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ding Liren para niños

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