Sleeping pills, thrills and the new king of world chess, China’s Ding Liren

The king is dead. Long live the Ding.

Chess has a new world champion, Ding Liren from China. And the day after his thrilling victory against the Russian player Ian Nepomniachtchi, he is sitting talking to the Guardian, energy spent after a 24-day, 18-game marathon soaked in tension and wild momentum swings. It turns out Ding has a nickname, Silent Storm, and it is as well judged as his final moves in the match. “Well, I am quiet,” he says, his voice rising barely above a whisper. “But then over the board …”

Thunder on the board, drama off it. That was the story of this world championship, which came about after Magnus Carlsen decided to abdicate his throne and ended with Ding as the 17th classical chess world champion in history.

Some of what played out in Astana is well known: the fact Ding admitted he was depressed after the first game, recovered, and then entered another dip after having his opening preparation leaked. But not everything. Just 24 hours after his defeat, Nepomniachtchi reveals how disaster struck him on the eve of Sunday’s crucial tiebreak, after the classical chess part of the match finished in a 7-7 draw.

The Russian endured major sleep problems during his unsuccessful attempt to beat Carlsen in 2020, so he had come to Astana prepared. “I had some medicine to make sure I can fall asleep. And at 1am I found it had vanished. I guess the lady who cleaned the room, just …”

He stops. “It was also sort of a lottery because there were three or four different pills. But the priceless one was just gone. It was sort of unlucky, I guess. I really hope it was a coincidence. Otherwise …”

Whether it was espionage or an honest mistake, the result was Nepomniachtchi couldn’t doze off. “I’d say I managed to switch