GMLiren Ding

Ding Liren grew up in Wenzhou, China, and began learning chess at four. He attended Zhejiang Wenzhou High School and later studied law at Peking University. He won his first Chinese championship in 2009. Further national titles followed in 2011 and 2012. He helped China win its first open Olympiad gold medal in 2014. At the 2018 Olympiad, he won both team gold and individual gold on the top board. He also became the first Chinese player to qualify for the Candidates tournament.

Between 2017 and 2018, Ding played one hundred consecutive classical games without defeat. He reached the World Cup final in both 2017 and 2019. In 2019 he won the Sinquefield Cup after beating Magnus Carlsen in tiebreaks. He also won that year's Grand Chess Tour. Second place in the 2022 Candidates brought a world-title opportunity when Carlsen declined to defend. Ding defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi in rapid tiebreaks in 2023 to become China's first open world champion. He defended his crown against Gukesh Dommaraju in 2024. Defeat in their final game ended his reign.