Ding Liren succeeds Carlsen as world chess champion with gutsy playoff win

Ding Liren completed a most improbable journey to the summit of world chess on Sunday when he defeated Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi in a heart-stopping tiebreak playoff to capture the sport’s most prestigious title.

The 30-year-old from Zhejiang province, who never once led in the three-week match at the St Regis Astana Hotel until victory was in hand, boldly played for a win from what looked to be a drawn position in the last of four rapid games. That fighting spirit paid off handsomely when a stunned Nepomniachtchi resigned after 68 moves, making Ding the first Chinese man to become world chess champion.

“This match reflects the deepness of my soul,” Ding said afterward. “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.”

The €2m ($2.2m) world title match in the Kazakh capital was largely played in the shadow of Magnus Carlsen, the longtime champion and world No 1 who abdicated his crown last year, citing a lack of motivation.

Carlsen had strengthened his claim as the greatest player of any era back in 2021, when he crushed Nepomniachtchi in Dubai in his fourth title defense. His winning score of 7½-3½ with three games to spare was the most lopsided result in a world title match since José Raúl Capablanca’s triumph over Emanuel Lasker exactly 100 years before in Havana.

But the Norwegian floated the idea of surrending his title almost immediately afterward and finally confirmed his abdication last summer. It marked only the second time in the 137-year history of world championship matchplay that a reigning champion has opted not to defend his title – after American grandmaster Bobby Fischer controversially forfeited the crown amid clashes