China’s chess grandmaster Ding Liren made history as the country’s first male chess player to claim the world championship title, securing victory with a 2.5-1.5 score in a tiebreaker match against Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi at the 2023 World Chess Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan, on April 30. Photo: VCG

Ding competes against Ian Nepomniachtchi at the World Chess Championship in Kazakhstan on April 30. Photo: VCG

Ding and Ian shake hands before the games kick off on Sunday. Photo: Zhang Shuo/China News Service, VCG

Ding addresses the audience following his triumph in the FIDE World Chess Championship in Astana on April 30. Photo: VCG

Ding clinched the 2019 Sinquefield Cup after beating Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in a playoff in St. Louis, U.S., in 2019. This achievement marked Ding as the first-ever Chinese chess player to win the Sinquefield Cup. Photo: IC Photo

Ding plays in the first round of the World Chess Tournament in 2018 in Berlin, Germany. That same year, Ding became the first Chinese player to pass the 2800 Elo mark on the FIDE world rankings. Photo: VCG

Ding plays chess against 20 young challengers in his hometown of Wenzhou in East China’s Zhejiang province, in 2017. Wenzhou is renowned as China’s “chess city.” Photo: VCG

Ding plays at the 8th World Team Championships in Ningbo, East China’s Zhejiang province, in 2011, where his team came in second place. Photo: VCG

Ding plays at a game held in Shanghai in 2010. Born in 1992, Ding began his chess journey at the age of four and gained prominence in 2009 by becoming the youngest national chess champion in China at the age of 17. Photo: VCG