Just for some context on how many unlikely events had to line up for Ding to win the title (which is totally deserved, he grabbed the opportunity when he got it, I just think it's a great story):...
Just for some context on how many unlikely events had to line up for Ding to win the title (which is totally deserved, he grabbed the opportunity when he got it, I just think it's a great story):
Ding was not originally qualified for the Candidates tournament, the winner of which was scheduled to play Magnus Carlsen for the title.
Russia invades Ukraine. Sergey Karjakin, who is a total Putin bootlicker, makes a series of inappropriate pro war comments that get him disqualified from his spot in the Candidates. This opens up a spot for the highest rated player who is not otherwise qualified.
Ding is still not eligible for the ratings spot, because he has to have played 30 games in the past 12 months. Being unable to travel outside China due to covid, he has not played more than 4 games.
The Chinese chess federation schedules a series of last minute tournaments against Chinese grandmasters in which Ding plays 26 games in a little more than a month, and earns the ratings spot after Karjakin's appeal is rejected.
Ding has a bad start to the Candidates tournament, sitting at a negative Win-Loss score, while Nepomniachtchi and Fabiana Caruana are clear front runners. But Caruana's play collapses in the second half of the tournament, and Ding is able to make a comeback and ends up in second place. This is still not enough to qualify, however.
Magnus Carlsen officially withdraws from the world championship match, meaning the second-place finisher in the Candidates, Ding, gets to play against Nepomniachtchi.
During the match, Ding was at no point in the lead. He was trailing behind three times and managed to level the score each time, bringing the match to tiebreaks.
In the fourth of four rapid games, when it seems like the players are headed for a draw and subsequent blitz games, Ding suddenly spots an opportunity to go for the win. With both players low on time, he takes the lead at the last moment and wins the match.
It's incredible deserved, but also an incredibly unlikely series of events had to line up for it to even be possible. I was slightly rooting for Ding to win, but I'm also gutted for Ian that he lost at the final hurdle. In the moment when Ian realized it was all lost, you could see his hand shaking and he accidentally knocked pieces that were sitting on the side of the board after being captured onto the floor. Heartbreaking. After losing the previous match to the seemingly unbeatable Magnus Carlsen, he got another opportunity to play for the championship without facing Carlsen. He was the one who had the most chances to seal the win throughout the match. To lose it all at the end... Must be incredibly painful.
I just can't believe Nepo let this win escape through his fingers. He had it at one point. Ultimately, it comes down to personality and work ethic. Ding seemed totally willing to drive himself...
I just can't believe Nepo let this win escape through his fingers. He had it at one point. Ultimately, it comes down to personality and work ethic. Ding seemed totally willing to drive himself crazy to squeeze every ounce of grey matter he could get. Looking at him during this match made me sad. On the other hand, Nepo is usually detached, bored, and a bit arrogant at the chessboard. I was rooting for Nepo once again, and I do believe he is the better chess player, but I came to terms with the fact that no one becomes world champion with that attitude. Nepo is always preserving himself from stress, and that is not something you can do at that level and win. Unless your name is Magnus, of course.
Just look at the interview, Ding is falling apart, while Nepo looks just a little distraught.
I think Nepo seeming so aloof is just a kind of coping mechanism. The guy was literally shaking right before he resigned, then he stormed off to the back room looking like he wanted to punch...
I think Nepo seeming so aloof is just a kind of coping mechanism. The guy was literally shaking right before he resigned, then he stormed off to the back room looking like he wanted to punch something and spent 15 minutes composing himself in private before facing the press. It's just such a contrast because Ding wears his heart on his sleeve.
It is interesting, though. Nepo actually beat Magnus for a youth world championship when they were like 12. He was on the trajectory to becoming a top 10 player, but then he kind of stagnated. He was very good, but not quite world elite. He was in his mid twenties and seemed destined to be a kind of also-ran, maybe top 40 in the world, but not world championship contender quality. And then he himself realized he wasn't working hard enough. And I think that attitude change is the reason he's been so successful in the recent past.
He just hasn't been able to get it across the line. Someone on reddit pointed out this is the fourth world championship final he's lost: 2021 world championship against Magnus, 2021 world rapid championship playoffs against Abdusattorov, 2022 Fischer random world championship final against Nakamura, 2023 world championship against Ding.
Just for some context on how many unlikely events had to line up for Ding to win the title (which is totally deserved, he grabbed the opportunity when he got it, I just think it's a great story):
It's incredible deserved, but also an incredibly unlikely series of events had to line up for it to even be possible. I was slightly rooting for Ding to win, but I'm also gutted for Ian that he lost at the final hurdle. In the moment when Ian realized it was all lost, you could see his hand shaking and he accidentally knocked pieces that were sitting on the side of the board after being captured onto the floor. Heartbreaking. After losing the previous match to the seemingly unbeatable Magnus Carlsen, he got another opportunity to play for the championship without facing Carlsen. He was the one who had the most chances to seal the win throughout the match. To lose it all at the end... Must be incredibly painful.
I just can't believe Nepo let this win escape through his fingers. He had it at one point. Ultimately, it comes down to personality and work ethic. Ding seemed totally willing to drive himself crazy to squeeze every ounce of grey matter he could get. Looking at him during this match made me sad. On the other hand, Nepo is usually detached, bored, and a bit arrogant at the chessboard. I was rooting for Nepo once again, and I do believe he is the better chess player, but I came to terms with the fact that no one becomes world champion with that attitude. Nepo is always preserving himself from stress, and that is not something you can do at that level and win. Unless your name is Magnus, of course.
Just look at the interview, Ding is falling apart, while Nepo looks just a little distraught.
I think Nepo seeming so aloof is just a kind of coping mechanism. The guy was literally shaking right before he resigned, then he stormed off to the back room looking like he wanted to punch something and spent 15 minutes composing himself in private before facing the press. It's just such a contrast because Ding wears his heart on his sleeve.
It is interesting, though. Nepo actually beat Magnus for a youth world championship when they were like 12. He was on the trajectory to becoming a top 10 player, but then he kind of stagnated. He was very good, but not quite world elite. He was in his mid twenties and seemed destined to be a kind of also-ran, maybe top 40 in the world, but not world championship contender quality. And then he himself realized he wasn't working hard enough. And I think that attitude change is the reason he's been so successful in the recent past.
He just hasn't been able to get it across the line. Someone on reddit pointed out this is the fourth world championship final he's lost: 2021 world championship against Magnus, 2021 world rapid championship playoffs against Abdusattorov, 2022 Fischer random world championship final against Nakamura, 2023 world championship against Ding.