World Chess Championship 2024: What happened in the final last year between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi? 

China’s Ding Liren and Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi faced off in the final of the World Chess Championship 2023. In the grand finale that took place last year in Astana, Kazakhstan, Liren got the better of his Russian opponent. Earlier it was Magnus Carlsen, who was set to face Nepomniachtchi in the final, but later he withdrew and chose not to defend his title.

It was after Carlsen’s withdrawal that Liren was picked to play against Nepomniachtchi despite not qualifying for the final of the Candidates. Back then, Liren was ranked third in the world while Nepomniachtchi held the second spot. FIDE selected Liren on the virtue of him finishing as the runner-up in the Candidates in 2022.

---

How did Ding Liren edge past Ian Nepomniachtchi in the World Chess Championship final 2023?

Liren and Nepomniachtchi made a steady start to the final after the opening game ended in a draw. The Russian won the second game and pushed Liren on the back foot. Ding, however, made a stupendous comeback to make it 7-7 at the end of the 14th game.

With the scores level, Liren won the fourth game to come up trumps after the first three games of the rapid round ended in draws. Liren also made history after becoming the first Chinese player to win the World Chess Championship. Xie Jun, Zhu Chen, Xu Yuhua, Hou Yifan, Tan Zhongyi, and Ju Wenjun are the champions from China in the women’s championship.

Liren has a tough task on his hands as he will face India’s D Gukesh in the grand finale of the World Chess Championship to start on November 25 at Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa.

Gukesh, who is looking to become the youngest world champion, is expected to pose a massive threat to Liren. Gukesh won the Candidates earlier this year in April.