Ding Liren is a Chinese chess player. In 2009 he became a chess grandmaster. In 2023, he became the first Chinese and 17th world chess champion.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Ding Liren was born on Saturday, 24 October 1992 (age 30 years; as of 2022) in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China. Their zodiac sign is Scorpio. He did his schooling at Wenzhou Zhouyuan Elementary School in Wenzhou, China. He became interested in playing chess at the age of 4, when his mother and her friends took their children to a chess club to learn chess. His first chess coach was Chen Lixing. Later, he studied at Zhejiang Wenzhou High School in Zhejiang, China. He received his Bachelor of Laws from Peking University Law School in Beijing, China. In an interview he talked about how he practiced playing chess early in his career, saying,
When I was young, I participated in the Li Chengzi Cup every summer and winter vacation. This is the strongest tournament for teenagers. I performed very well and won it every year. I played in all age groups – under-10, 12, 14, etc. I participated in this tournament until I was 18 or 19 years old. Li Chengzhi Cup helped me become a stronger chess player, develop my chess skills, fight with other players from different provinces of China.
Ding Liren’s childhood image
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 6″
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Family
parents and siblings
His father, Ding Wenjun, is an electrical engineer, and his mother, Ye Xiaoping, is a hospital nurse.
Ding Liren with his parents
Wife
He is unmarried.
relationships/affairs
In an interview he had told that he has a girlfriend who is a chess player. Reportedly, the couple broke up in 2019. Talking about their relationship in an interview, he said,
I have to go back in 2019. Then the pandemic came and at the same time, I had a falling out with my girlfriend and we broke up. Chess has now filled my life, but I also have a good friend. She and my team of analysts pull me out of emotional meltdowns very well.
signature/autograph
Ding Liren’s signature on the chessboard
livelihood
chess
When he was a teenager, he started participating regularly in the Li Chengzhi Cup. In November 2003, he competed at the Under-10 World Youth Championship in Heraklio and scored 9½/11. When he was 11 years old, he scored 1/4 in the Chinese Men’s Team Championship in April 2004. In November 2004, he finished second at the Under-12 World Youth Championship. In October 2009, he became the 30th Grandmaster of China. At the age of 16, he won his first Chinese Chess Championship in 2009, making him the youngest person to do so. In September 2017, he became the runner-up in the Chess World Cup and received a cash prize of $80,000.
Ding Liren won $80,000 in the Chess World Cup in 2017
In 2019, after defeating reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen in a playoff, Ding Liren won the Sinquefield Cup after winning two matches and drawing nine. In 2022, he earned a total of $175,540 in prize money after participating in 5 major chess tournaments. In 2023, after winning the World Chess Championship, he received a cash prize of €1.1m ($1.2m).
medal
Brass
- 2014: Won medal in Chess Olympiad
silver
- 2015: Won medal at World Team Championship
Sleep
- 2014: Won medal (team) in Chess Olympiad
- 2015: Won medal (team) at World Team Championship
- 2018: Won medal (team) in Chess Olympiad
- 2018: Won medal in Chess Olympiad
Records and achievements
- 2009: Became Chinese chess champion
- 2011: Becomes Chinese chess champion
- 2012: Becomes Chinese chess champion
- 2015: Became the second Chinese chess player to be ranked in the top 10 list of FIDE world rankings
- 2016: Became the highest rated blitz player in the world with a rating of 2875.
- 2017: Became the first Chinese player to qualify for the FIDE Candidates Tournament
- 2017: Won the FIDE Grand Prix in Moscow
Ding Liren after winning the FIDE Grand Prix in Moscow in 2017
- 2018: Became the first Chinese player to surpass 2800 Elo points in the FIDE world rankings
- 2019: Won the Sinquefield Cup
Ding Liren with the Sinquefield Cup
- 2019: Won Grand Chess Tour
Ding Liren holding the Grand Chess Tour trophy
- 2023: Won the World Chess Championship by defeating Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi
- 2023: Becomes the third Asian and first Chinese player to become World Chess Champion
Favorite
- Chess players: Paco Vallejo, Veselin Topalov
- Football Team: Bayern Munich, Juventus
- Food: Panini, Lasagna, Chinese Yellow Fish Dish
- Singer: Damien Rice, Passenger
Facts/General Knowledge
- He likes listening to Chinese music, especially folk songs.
- He doesn’t like playing video games because he finds it boring.
- In his spare time he likes to play basketball and is also a fan of football.
ding liren playing football
- Whenever he goes on an international trip, he always brings a pot to cook porridge, a book and a podcast. He is an avid reader and loves reading novels. He listens to podcasts, especially social science stuff.
- According to Chinese zodiac signs, their Chinese zodiac animal is ‘Monkey’.
- His closest chess player is Wei Yi, a Chinese chess grandmaster.
- In an interview, while talking about the cash prize he received after winning a match, he said that he always gave all his money to his mother and did not keep any of it with himself. He said,
I don’t need it. I don’t like buying expensive and luxurious things. I like to live a simple life. Maybe, sometimes I want to go to a restaurant and eat some good food, but even there I try to ensure that it is not too expensive. You know when Wei Yi (Chinese chess grandmaster) was here we sometimes just ate instant noodles and we were very happy to eat it.
- In 2018, he had to withdraw from the Altibox Norway chess tournament because he fell off his bike and was injured. He had gone for a bike ride with his father and while turning the bike at high speed, he fell on the ground and injured his leg. After going to the hospital, he found out that his hip was broken. Later that day, he was to participate in a cook-off with some of the top chess players, and his team was with Indian chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand. While cooking, he sat on a chair and chopped vegetables the entire time while Anand took care of the hollandaise sauce and halibut fillets. However, Ding Liren and Vishwanathan Anand together won the cook-off.
Ding Liren and Viswanathan Anand during the cook-off in 2019
- He is fond of traveling and has visited many countries. He loves visiting European countries and has visited Scotland, Czechia and Norway.
- He follows a non-vegetarian diet.
- In an interview, he talked about his daily life routine and how he spent a typical day and said,
I don’t like making plans for myself. I study chess when I feel like it. Usually, I wake up at 9 or 10 in the morning, I can’t really sleep that early at night. 1 o’clock is my usual time to go to bed. After waking up and having breakfast I watch the games played yesterday. I use ‘2700chess.com’ or ‘The Week in Chess’ to find games. If I find some interesting games I look them up and try to analyze in depth. Once I finish watching the latest game, it’s usually time for lunch. I like to take a little rest after lunch. I do some physical exercise in the evening or play basketball with my friends. After that, I play chess games online and also follow live league games that are played frequently. I also like football, so if there is a match being played I watch it. And before sleeping I like to read a book or listen to some music. I guess it’s a normal day for me.”
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn