Ding Liren

Ding Lien (1992-) is the highest rated Chinese chess player. He got the Grandmaster title in 2009. His peak rating is 2816, reached in November 2018.

Overlooking Chess’s Past While Chronicling Its Present

Five of the first six chapters of INTERREGNUM: Inside the Grueling and Glamorous Battle to Become the Next King of Chess (Pegasus Books – April 21st, 2026) track players’ paths to, and results in, the 2024 Candidates Tournament in Toronto. Since author Jordan Himelfarb is a managing editor of the Toronto Star, one of North America’s largest newspapers, he is well positioned to report on that tournament. More 🡢

Chess Under Pressure: New Year’s Resolutions

During a game, a chess player may daydream about what a good result will bring. Ironically, daydreaming takes them away from that good result. Here are two New Year’s Resolutions to deal with pressures felt during chess games. More 🡢

Chess Champion from China

Ding Liren winning the FIDE World Championship 2023 reminds fans that China is a chess powerhouse. Perhaps the first time a Chinese player captured the world’s attention was October 29, 1991. That’s when Xie Jun (family name Xie) won the Women’s World Chess Championship. More 🡢

FIDE World Championship 2023: Decisive Chess Games

he FIDE World Championship match between Ding Liren from China and Ian Nepomniachtchi from Russia is from April 7 to May 1 in Astana, Kazakhstan. While previous 21st century world championship matches featured many draws, the first half of the Ding Liren versus Ian Nepomniachtchi match had five decisive games and two draws. Decisive games include moves that are less than perfect. More 🡢

Free Chess Content, Spring 2023

The London Chess Conference was March 17-19. Videos of its sessions are available for free on YouTube. On April 10, the Mechanics’ Institute will hold a free Zoom session about the 2023 World Chess Championship match between Ding Liren from China and Ian Nepomniachtchi from Russia. More 🡢

Is Hans Niemann the second-best classical chess player of 2022?

Imagine a ranking system in which defeating the World Chess Champion trumps other considerations. In this system, Hans Niemann would be #2 for 2022. Niemann is the only player with a classical chess win over World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen. This imaginary system is more like sports rankings than chess rankings and is loosely based on the Morphy number. More 🡢

Do favorites win World Chess Championship qualifiers?

Earlier in this World Chess Championship cycle was the 2021 World Cup. Its top two finishers earned spots in the 2022 FIDE Candidates Tournament. To pair its single elimination matches, the World Cup ranks each of its participants by their chess ratings. Thus, the World Cup provides data for the question, “Do ratings favorites win World Chess Championship qualifiers?” More 🡢

FIDE Candidates Tournament and a new Norway Chess sweater

At the opening ceremony for the FIDE Candidates Tournament is June 16, Chilean singer Juga will perform her new chess-themed song, Open Files. Oddsmakers favor China’s Ding Liren and Fabiano Caruana of the United States to be the top finishers at the eight-player FIDE Candidates Tournament. The Candidates winner will face World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen for the title. More 🡢