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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
丁立人
Ding Liren in 2023 (52638329254).jpg
Ding in 2023
Country China
Born (1992-10-24) 24 October 1992 (age 32)
Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
Title Grandmaster (2009)
World Champion 2023–2024
FIDE rating 2791 (June 2025)
Peak rating 2816 (November 2018)
Ranking No. 1 (April 2023)
Peak ranking No. 2 (November 2021)
Ding Liren
Chinese 丁立人
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin Dīng Lìrén
Wu
Romanization Tin1 Liq5 nyin3

Ding Liren (Chinese: 丁立人; born 24 October 1992) is a famous Chinese chess grandmaster. A grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can earn. He was the 17th World Chess Champion, a title he held from 2023 to 2024.

Ding has won the Chinese Chess Championship three times. In 2019, he won the Grand Chess Tour, a major chess competition. He also won the 2019 Sinquefield Cup. Ding was the first Chinese player to reach a very high rating of 2800 Elo points. This rating system helps show how strong a player is.

From 2017 to 2018, Ding played 100 games of classical chess without losing. This was a record for a long time! He finished second in the Chess World Cup twice, in 2017 and 2019. In 2022, he came second in the Candidates Tournament. This tournament decides who gets to challenge for the World Champion title.

Because the current champion, Magnus Carlsen, decided not to defend his title, Ding got to play against Ian Nepomniachtchi for the World Chess Championship 2023. Ding won the match in a tie-break, becoming the first Chinese World Chess Champion. He lost his title to Gukesh Dommaraju in the World Chess Championship 2024.

Early Life and Learning Chess

Ding Liren was born in Wenzhou, China. He started learning how to play chess when he was just four years old. He went to Wenzhou Zhouyuan Elementary School and later to Zhejiang Wenzhou High School. He also studied law at Peking University Law School.

Ding's Chess Journey

Ding has won the Chinese Chess Championship three times (in 2009, 2011, and 2012). He has played for China in many big team events. He helped his team win gold medals at the Chess Olympiads in 2014 and 2018. He also won team gold at the World Team Championships in 2015.

Breaking Records in 2015-2018

In August 2015, Ding became one of the top 10 chess players in the world. He was the second Chinese player to achieve this.

By July 2016, Ding was the best Blitz chess player in the world. Blitz chess is a very fast game.

In September 2017, Ding became the first Chinese player to qualify for the Candidates Tournament. This is a big step towards becoming World Champion.

At the Candidates Tournament 2018, Ding played very well. He didn't lose any games, which is very rare at that level.

In September 2018, Ding reached an amazing Elo rating of 2800 points. This made him the first Chinese player to do so. His rating of 2816 in November 2018 was one of the highest ratings ever recorded.

Winning Big in 2019

In August 2019, Ding tied for first place at the Sinquefield Cup. He then won the tournament by beating Magnus Carlsen, who is considered one of the best players ever.

In October 2019, Ding qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2020–21 again. He finished second in the Chess World Cup 2019 for the second time in a row.

Ding also won the 2019 Grand Chess Tour finals. He beat other top players like Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to win this important title.

Challenges in 2020-2021

In March 2020, Ding played in the Candidates Tournament 2020–2021. He had a tough start but improved later in the tournament. He finished in fifth place.

Road to World Champion (2022-2023)

Ding faced a challenge in 2022 because he hadn't played enough games outside China due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese Chess Association quickly arranged special tournaments for him to play. This allowed him to qualify for the Candidates Tournament 2022.

At the Candidates Tournament, Ding started slowly but finished strong. He came in second place. This was very important because Magnus Carlsen, the World Champion, decided not to defend his title. This meant Ding, as the second-place finisher, would play against Ian Nepomniachtchi for the World Chess Championship 2023.

In January 2023, Ding played in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023. He didn't do as well as usual, and his rating dropped below 2800 points.

Becoming World Champion (2023)

In April 2023, Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi played for the World Chess Championship 2023. The match was very close, with both players scoring 7 points in the main games.

Then, they played rapid tie-break games. Ding won the fourth rapid game, making him the new World Chess Champion! He was the first Chinese player to ever hold this title.

After winning the championship, Ding took a break from chess tournaments for nine months. He mentioned he was going through a difficult time and needed to rest.

2024 Season

Ding returned to chess in January 2024 at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024. He continued to play in other tournaments like the Grenke Chess Classic and Norway Chess.

In September, Ding played for China at the 45th_Chess_Olympiad. He had a tough tournament and didn't win any games. This caused his rating to drop out of the top 20 players in the world.

Losing the World Chess Champion Title (2024)

Main article: World Chess Championship 2024

Before the World Chess Championship 2024 match against Gukesh Dommaraju, many people thought Ding would not win. This was because he had been having a difficult year and not playing his best. Ding himself said he wasn't playing like he used to.

However, during the match, many chess experts admired Ding's fighting spirit. He kept trying his best even when things were tough.

Ding lost the championship to Gukesh with a score of 6½ to 7½. In the last game, Ding made a mistake that led to him losing the game and his title.

Notable Games

In this game, Ding played very aggressively. He sacrificed some pieces to attack his opponent's king. This led to a forced checkmate.

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
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
Position after 32...Ne5+
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 O-O 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+ 0-1(diagram)

The game would have ended with a checkmate in a few more moves.

Key Achievements

  • November 2003: Tied for 1st place at the World Youth Chess Championship (Under-10).
  • November 2004: Tied for 1st place at the World Youth Chess Championship (Under-12).
  • May 2009: Earned his first "grandmaster norm" at the Asian Championship.
  • May 2009: Won the Chinese Chess Championship and earned his second grandmaster norm.
  • October 2009: Became China's 30th grandmaster.
  • April 2011: Won the Chinese Chess Championship again.
  • April 2012: Won the Chinese Chess Championship for the third time.
  • July 2015: Won a match against Boris Gelfand.
  • March–April 2017: Won the Longgang Shenzhen Grandmaster Tournament.
  • May 2017: Won the Moscow Grand Prix.
  • September 2017: Reached the final of the Chess World Cup 2017, becoming the first Chinese player to qualify for the Candidates Tournament.
  • March 2018: Finished 4th at the Candidates Tournament 2018 without losing a single game.
  • April 2018: Finished 2nd at Shamkir Chess 2018.
  • August 2019: Finished 2nd at the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz event.
  • August 2019: Won the 2019 Sinquefield Cup by beating Magnus Carlsen in a tie-break.
  • October 2019: Reached the final of the 2019 Chess World Cup for the second time in a row.
  • December 2019: Won the Grand Chess Tour Finals.
  • March 2020 and April 2021: Played in the Candidates Tournament 2020–21, finishing 5th.
  • June–July 2021: Reached the semi-finals of the Goldmoney Asian Rapid tournament.
  • December 2021: Reached the semi-finals of the 2021 Speed Chess Championship.
  • May 2022: Won the 2022 Chessable Masters by defeating Magnus Carlsen and R Praggnanandhaa.
  • July 2022: Finished second at the Candidates Tournament 2022, which qualified him for the World Chess Championship.
  • April 2023: Won the World Chess Championship 2023, becoming the World Chess Champion.

Personal Life

Ding Liren often travels with his mother. In interviews, he has shared that he sometimes faces challenges with his well-being and sleep. He mentioned in late 2024 that he was not enjoying his work as much and was dealing with some personal difficulties.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ding Liren para niños

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