World Chess Championship 2023: Ding Liren completes China’s four-stage “Great Dragon” plan

Status: 2:49 p.m | Reading time: 4 minutes

Dhe fulfillment of China’s master plan for chess in the Middle Kingdom plunged Ding Liren into emotional chaos. “I couldn’t control my emotions. I’m going to cry, I feel so relieved,” the 30-year-old confessed after becoming the first Chinese champion in the 137-year history of the World Cup. The state media in his home country celebrated a “historic victory” for Ding on Monday, who won a fascinating world championship duel against the Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi in the tie-break.

“This match reflects the depth of my soul,” Ding said. For a long time after his opponent had given up, he had remained on the board with his hand in front of his eyes, almost in disbelief at the moment of triumph. “It was a tough tournament for me,” said Ding at the end of the three eventful weeks of the duel in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The Chinese had come back again and again, digested defeats and caught up on deficits. It was 7:7 after the 14 regular games, but Ding forced the tie-break to his side with courageous moves with 2.5:1.5. He was then celebrated as the “pride of China” in the Chinese short message service Weibo, millions of Chinese had already enthusiastically commented on the news of Ding’s victory on Monday night.

“I hope this will affect a lot of people,” Ding said. His success crowned China’s “Great Dragon” strategy, which would propel the country to the top of the chess world. Even in communist China, the game was frowned upon as “decadent” and was even banned for eight years during the “Cultural Revolution” (1966-76). Then came the turnaround and at the latest with the women’s world title for Xie Jun in 1991, the boom. “We had this four-stage plan in China, first women’s individual, then women in the team, then men in the team, then men’s individual,” explained the Chinese on the sidelines of the World Cup in an interview with “Zeit”.

China’s four-step plan in chess

Chess was funded by the state – chess clubs sprang up everywhere. The four-stage plan envisaged: first the World Championship title for women in singles, then women in teams, then men in teams, and finally men in singles. “It has finally worked out,” wrote China’s Communist Party organ, the People’s Daily.

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Originally from Wenzhou in east China’s Zejiang province, Ding Liren started playing at the age of four himself, encouraged by his father, who was a keen chess player. Ding Liren won a national tournament for the first time at the age of five – his first title as a Chinese chess champion at the age of 16. “Sometimes I thought I was addicted to chess. I wasn’t happy without tournaments,” said Ding, who describes himself as a football fan and enjoys spending time in museums. He dropped out of law school and put everything on chess. Now he is the 17th world champion in chess history.

It was only through detours that he made it into the duel for the world title, which was endowed with two million euros. He did not qualify for the World Cup Candidates Tournament and only advanced when the Russian Sergei Karjakin was expelled from the world association for his support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Because he hadn’t played enough tournaments during the Corona period, China quickly organized some for him.

Ding then finished second behind Nepomniachtchi in the World Championship elimination. But because permanent world champion Magnus Carlsen didn’t feel like another duel against the Russian and gave up his crown, the two challengers played for the title. After Ding’s victory, Carlsen congratulated his successor on Twitter for making the decisive move “to immortality”. However, he had previously said: “The world champion will not be seen as a world champion. That is the simple reality.”

Carlsen hovers above everything

Given the historic magnitude of his success, Ding will probably be able to live with the taint of being a titleholder by Carlsen’s grace. After ten years of dominance, the 32-year-old Norwegian lacked the motivation to once again commit himself to the exhausting World Championship fight. Carlsen continues to lead the world rankings, he will probably remain the fixed point of the chess world.

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Ding is, unlike its predecessor, a rather shy contemporary. “I didn’t even dream of it as a kid. My ambition isn’t that big, I’ve never set myself such high goals. The World Cup came as a pleasant surprise,” the Chinese told Die Zeit before the games against Nepomniachtchi. Ding insisted that he didn’t like being famous. At the latest after the triumph in Astana, however, he will have to live with the status of a national hero in China.

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