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    Ding Liren
    2026. Photo: TheBoburshokh, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

    17THWorld chess champion

    Ding Liren

    Ding Liren was world champion 2023–2024, for 1 year. He won the title in 2023, beating Ian Nepomniachtchi 7–7 / 2½–1½ in Astana.

    Born
    24 October 1992 (age 34) · Wenzhou, China
    Learned chess
    Started at four
    Profiles
    FIDE World Chess MuseumFIDE ratingsWikipedia
    1 year
    World champion
    1 of 2
    Title events won or kept
    2816
    Peak FIDE rating, Nov 2018
    2798
    On today's scale: 15th of 18

    Every title event

    YearOpponentScoreResultGamesWhere
    2023Ian Nepomniachtchi7–7 / 2½–1½Won+3 −3 =8tiebreak +1 −0 =3Astana
    2024Gukesh Dommaraju7½–6½Lost+2 −3 =9Singapore

    Across 2 title matches, Ding won 5 games, lost 6 and drew 17: a score of 48.2% of the points.

    Scores are listed winner first; a dash means the match wasn't played or was a tournament. Games are won, lost and drawn (+ − =) from Ding's side, counted from chessgames.com and shown only where they add up to the official score. Source: Wikipedia, List of World Chess Championships.

    Honours

    1
    World championship titles

    2023

    3
    National championships

    2009, 2011, 2012

    2
    Olympiad team golds

    2014, 2018

    1
    Olympiad board golds

    2018

    2
    World team golds

    2015, 2017

    Each year links to its source. World championship titles are title events won or kept. Olympiad board golds are the best score on a board. Most of these events didn't exist before the 1920s.

    Compare all 18 champions' honours

    Impact at home: China

    • HonoursThe first Chinese player to hold the title of World Chess Champion source
    • InstitutionsThree-time Chinese champion, and part of China's Olympiad-winning teams in 2014 and 2018 source
    • HonoursThe first Chinese player to play in a Candidates Tournament, and the only one to pass 2800 source
    • PlayersPlayed board two for China's gold-medal team at the 2014 Olympiad in Tromsø source
    • GrowthBecame China's 30th grandmaster in October 2009 source

    China had 53 grandmasters when Ding became world champion in 2023. By October 2026 it had 60.

    Measure2023when he became champion2026October 2026
    Grandmasters5360
    In the world top 1008 Jan 2023 list7 Nov 2026 list

    China grandmasters, 1985–2026

    01020304050601990200020102020Ding champion

    Move over the chart to see any year.

    Grandmasters by the year FIDE gave the title, from Wikipedia's list of all 2,162 grandmasters (October 2026). Top 100 from FIDE's rating lists (OlimpBase to 2001, then FIDE); FIDE's lists begin in 1971. These numbers show what happened around each champion, not what he caused: many things grow a country's chess.

    Rivalries

    Ding v GukeshTitle event 2024

    4 wins11 draws · 19 games4 wins

    How strong was Ding?

    His highest official rating was 2816, on FIDE's Nov 2018 list, as world No. 4: 5th of the 8 champions from Fischer on, whose peaks fall on FIDE's lists.

    That month the best other player was Magnus Carlsen, at 2835: 19 points higher. The top 10 averaged 2794; on today's scale (FIDE's Nov 2026 top 10 average 2777) his peak is about 2798, 15th of the 18 champions. How this is worked out.

    22002300240025002600270028002900200420082012201620202024Peak 2816 · Nov 2018
    FIDE standard rating on each list where Ding Liren was in the world top 100, and FIDE's own monthly record from April 2003. Sources: OlimpBase, FIDE.
    Every month as a table
    FIDE listRating
    Nov 20262723
    Oct 20262723
    Sep 20262733
    Aug 20262733
    Jul 20262738
    Jun 20262738
    May 20262738
    Apr 20262734
    Mar 20262734
    Feb 20262734
    Jan 20262734
    Dec 20252734
    Nov 20252734
    Oct 20252734
    Sep 20252734
    Aug 20252734
    Jul 20252734
    Jun 20252734
    May 20252734
    Apr 20252734
    Mar 20252734
    Feb 20252734
    Jan 20252734
    Dec 20242728
    Nov 20242728
    Oct 20242728
    Sep 20242736
    Aug 20242745
    Jul 20242745
    Jun 20242762
    May 20242762
    Apr 20242762
    Mar 20242762
    Feb 20242762
    Jan 20242780
    Dec 20232780
    Nov 20232780
    Oct 20232780
    Sep 20232780
    Aug 20232780
    Jul 20232780
    Jun 20232780
    May 20232789
    Apr 20232788
    Mar 20232788
    Feb 20232788
    Jan 20232811
    Dec 20222811
    Nov 20222811
    Oct 20222811
    Sep 20222808
    Aug 20222808
    Jul 20222806
    Jun 20222806
    May 20222806
    Apr 20222799
    Mar 20222799
    Feb 20222799
    Jan 20222799
    Dec 20212799
    Nov 20212799
    Oct 20212799
    Sep 20212799
    Aug 20212799
    Jul 20212799
    Jun 20212799
    May 20212799
    Apr 20212791
    Mar 20212791
    Feb 20212791
    Jan 20212791
    Dec 20202791
    Nov 20202791
    Oct 20202791
    Sep 20202791
    Aug 20202791
    Jul 20202791
    Jun 20202791
    May 20202791
    Apr 20202791
    Mar 20202805
    Feb 20202805
    Jan 20202805
    Dec 20192801
    Nov 20192801
    Oct 20192811
    Sep 20192811
    Aug 20192805
    Jul 20192812
    Jun 20192805
    May 20192805
    Apr 20192809
    Mar 20192812
    Feb 20192812
    Jan 20192813
    Dec 20182813
    Nov 20182816
    Oct 20182804
    Sep 20182804
    Aug 20182797
    Jul 20182797
    Jun 20182798
    May 20182791
    Apr 20182778
    Mar 20182769
    Feb 20182769
    Jan 20182769
    Dec 20172777
    Nov 20172774
    Oct 20172772
    Sep 20172771
    Aug 20172777
    Jul 20172781
    Jun 20172783
    May 20172773
    Apr 20172759
    Mar 20172759
    Feb 20172760
    Jan 20172760
    Dec 20162757
    Nov 20162764
    Oct 20162764
    Sep 20162753
    Aug 20162755
    Jul 20162778
    Jun 20162783
    May 20162778
    Apr 20162777
    Mar 20162777
    Feb 20162766
    Jan 20162766
    Dec 20152776
    Nov 20152781
    Oct 20152782
    Sep 20152782
    Aug 20152770
    Jul 20152749
    Jun 20152749
    May 20152757
    Apr 20152751
    Mar 20152755
    Feb 20152755
    Jan 20152732
    Dec 20142732
    Nov 20142730
    Oct 20142730
    Sep 20142754
    Aug 20142742
    Jul 20142726
    Jun 20142714
    May 20142714
    Apr 20142710
    Mar 20142717
    Feb 20142717
    Jan 20142717
    Dec 20132710
    Nov 20132711
    Oct 20132722
    Sep 20132722
    Aug 20132718
    Jul 20132714
    Jun 20132702
    May 20132707
    Apr 20132707
    Mar 20132707
    Feb 20132709
    Jan 20132709
    Dec 20122702
    Nov 20122702
    Oct 20122702
    Sep 20122694
    Aug 20122695
    Jul 20122680
    May 20122679
    Mar 20122660
    Jan 20122660
    Nov 20112660
    Sep 20112660
    Jul 20112655
    May 20112665
    Mar 20112637
    Jan 20112628
    Nov 20102604
    Sep 20102570
    Jul 20102574
    May 20102547
    Mar 20102565
    Jan 20102565
    Nov 20092566
    Sep 20092530
    Jul 20092530
    Apr 20092458
    Jan 20092446
    Oct 20082446
    Jul 20082439
    Apr 20082395
    Jan 20082395
    Oct 20072395
    Jul 20072289
    Apr 20072289
    Jan 20072289
    Oct 20062289
    Jul 20062289
    Apr 20062289
    Jan 20062289
    Oct 20052289
    Jul 20052270
    Apr 20052270
    Jan 20052270
    Oct 20042231
    Jul 20042231
    Apr 20042230
    Jan 20042230

    The road to the title

    1. 2012-09

      40th Chess Olympiad (Istanbul)[1]

      7½/10 (+6−1=3) on board three

      Performance rating 2764 on board three

    2. 2014-08

      41st Chess Olympiad (Tromsø)[1]

      Team gold

      Part of China's gold-medal team

    3. 2015-04

      World Team Championship[1]

      Team gold and individual silver

    4. 2015-08

      FIDE World Rankings[1]

      Entered World Top 10

      The first Chinese player after Wang Yue to reach the top 10

    5. 2016-07

      FIDE Blitz Rating[1]

      World No. 1 blitz rating (2875)

      The highest-rated blitz player in the world

    6. 2017-09

      FIDE World Cup 2017 (Tbilisi)[1]

      Runner-up (qualified for Candidates)

      The first Chinese player to qualify for a Candidates Tournament

    7. 2017–2018

      Classical Chess Streak[1]

      100-game unbeaten streak

      29 wins and 71 draws

    8. 2018-10

      43rd Chess Olympiad (Batumi)[1]

      Team gold; board 1 individual gold, 5½/8

      Performance rating 2873

    9. 2018-11

      FIDE Classical Rating Peak[1]

      Rating 2816

      The joint-tenth highest rating in history at the time

    10. 2019-08

      Sinquefield Cup (St. Louis)[1]

      Won, beating Carlsen in the playoff

      Drew both rapid games, then won the blitz 2–0

    11. 2022-07

      Candidates Tournament 2022 (Madrid)[1]

      Second place

      Qualified for the title match because Carlsen declined to defend

    12. 2023-04

      World Chess Championship 2023 (Astana)[1]

      7–7 in classical; won the rapid tiebreak 2½–1½

      Became world champion

    What Ding changed about chess

    • popularityThe first Chinese player to become world champion.[1]
    • otherHis 100-game unbeaten run (2017–18) was the longest in top-level chess history.[1]
    • otherThe first Chinese player to play in a Candidates Tournament, and the only Chinese player to pass 2800.[1]

    Achievements

    • 2023-04-30World champion 2023–2024, the first Chinese player to hold the title[1]
    • Three-time Chinese champion[1]
    • 2014, 2018Olympiad team gold with China, 2014 and 2018[1]
    • 2018-11-10100 classical games unbeaten (Aug 2017–Nov 2018), the longest run in top-level chess[1]
    • 2019-08-29Sinquefield Cup 2019, beating Carlsen in the playoff[1]
    • Runner-up at the 2017 and 2019 World Cups[1]

    Famous games

    • Bai Jinshi v Ding Liren, Chinese Chess League 2017 · 0–1[1]

      Pushing for the initiative, Ding left several pieces en prise; a king hunt ended in forced mate.

      Ding Liren
      Bai Jinshi

      Start position

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      33. 0–1

      Arrow keys step through the moves; click any move to jump to it. Pieces by Colin M. L. Burnett (BSD licence).

      Game score: chessgames.com

    • Ian Nepomniachtchi v Ding Liren, World Chess Championship 2023, rapid tiebreak game 4 2023 · 0–1[1]

      Ding won the fourth rapid tiebreak game as Black to become world champion.

      Ding Liren
      Ian Nepomniachtchi

      Start position

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      69. 0–1

      Arrow keys step through the moves; click any move to jump to it. Pieces by Colin M. L. Burnett (BSD licence).

      Game score: chessgames.com

    • Magnus Carlsen v Ding Liren, Sinquefield Cup 2019 playoff 2019 · 0–1[1]

      From the playoff Ding won 2–0 in blitz to take the Sinquefield Cup.

      Ding Liren
      Magnus Carlsen

      Start position

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      38. 38.
      39. 39.
      40. 40.
      41. 0–1

      Arrow keys step through the moves; click any move to jump to it. Pieces by Colin M. L. Burnett (BSD licence).

      Game score: chessgames.com

    In his words

    "This match reflects the deepness of my soul. I could not control my mood. I will cry. I will burst into tears. It was quite a tough tournament for me. I feel quite relieved."[2]
    "I thought I was addicted to chess, because sometimes without tournaments, I was not so happy. Sometimes I struggled to find other hobbies to make me happy."[2]

    More on Ding Liren

    Quick answers

    When was Ding Liren world chess champion?

    2023–2024: 1 year. He won the title in 2023, beating Ian Nepomniachtchi 7–7 / 2½–1½ in Astana.

    What was Ding Liren's highest FIDE rating?

    2816, on FIDE's Nov 2018 list, when he was world No. 4. That is 5th of the 8 champions from Fischer on.

    Sources

    1. [1] en.wikipedia.org: "In September 2012, Ding represented China as board three at the 40th Chess Olympiad at Istanbul, where he finished with a score of 7½/10 (+6−1=3) with a performance rating of 2764."
    2. [2] en.wikipedia.org: "This match reflects the deepness of my soul. I could not control my mood. I will cry. I will burst into tears. It was quite a tough tournament for me. I feel quite relieved."