Ding Liren overwhelms Ian Nepomniachtchi;

claims World Championship Crown

“The beginning of a new era”

Grandmaster Ding Liren ended Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi’s World

Championship dream as he casted a never-seen-before series of moves amidst his disadvantages
to climb on top of the chess world, 9.5-8.5, a thrilling 14-round Classical during the FIDE World
Chess Championship at St. Regis Hotel, Astana, Kazakhstan last April 30, 2023.
Ding Liren defied all odds as he fended off Nepomniachtchi’s nuke of tricky strategies
with a risky rook-g6 connected by a queen-e2, turning the tables from a chess nightmare
disadvantage into a torch to pave way for him to clasp the World Championship crown at the last
dying seconds of the game.
The battle sparked between Ding and Nepomniachtchi after former World Champion
Magnus Carlsen withdraws to defend his title after a decade of dominance, leaving the crown
unowned and open for other aspiring grandmasters.
“I felt like my king was safer on h7,” Ding’s brilliant reasoning that later on served as a
catalyst for his victory. “The meaning of life should be in those special, sparkling moments,”
added Ding after being emotional of his achievement.
Nepomniachtchi started to put a margin in the opening moves with bishop in attacking
position as white had statistically dominated overall and unlocked an anti-marshall arena for
Ding who has been playing black in the last rounds.
Both players exchanged blows with pawns being conquered all over the place, implying
that they really are playing for a win after several ties and deadlocks, but Nepomniachtchi saw an
opening and threatened Ding’s rook with a knight.
Ding answered back with an unpredictable pawn placing and finally unleashed his queen,
driving Nepomniachtchi’s assault to a halt earlier in the midgame.
The heat intensifies after an inaccuracy by Nepomniachtchi who played rook-a1, causing
him to completely lose his advantage and equalizes the battleground for Ding’s nasty setup in the
endgame.
As the match reaches its final minute, the pressure and tension drowned Nepomniachtchi,
courtesy of a handshake that signaled the end of the blitz tiebreaks in the 68th turn of the game.
In a style that will now become synonymous with his supremacy, Ding rolled up his
pawns up the board to victory, making him the first-ever Chinese Undisputed World Champion
in the history of chess.