Ding Liren became China’s first world chess champion on Sunday, defeating Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi in a rapid-play tie-break in Kazakhstan.
Ding, 30, succeeds Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who elected not to defend his World Chess Championship title after a 10-year reign.
He and Nepomniachtchi finished the 14 first-stage games in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, with seven points apiece.
Each had three wins, with the remaining eight games ending in draws.
The contenders had just 25 minutes to make their moves in the tie-break stage of the tournament, which was again held in Astana, plus an additional 10 seconds for each move played.
Ding secured victory after winning the fourth of four quick-fire games on Sunday, following three draws.
Both players responded dramatically, with Nepomniachtchi promptly rising from the table after shaking hands to admit defeat, then shaking hands again before exiting the hall.
Ding sat in front of the board, his cheek resting on one hand as he attempted to gather his thoughts.
“I’m quite relieved,” said Ding, in comments posted after the match by FIDE, the International Chess Federation.”The moment Ian resigned the game was a very emotional moment. I couldn’t control my feelings. I know myself, I will cry and burst into tears. It was a tough tournament for me.”
During the 14-match classical play series, he had come back from a game down three times: each time Nepomniachtchi won a game to take the lead, Ding eventually leveled the score with a win of his own.
