Ian Nepomniachtchi approached his second world championship match as a strong favorite. The Russian grandmaster, who clinched the Candidates’ Tournament in 2022 with relative ease, aimed to exact revenge on the legendary Norwegian Magnus Carlsen.
Yet Carlsen stepped back from the title, stepping away from the throne after expressing little motivation to defend the crown for a fifth straight year.
Chinese challenger Ding Liren, who finished runner up in the tournament to challenge the throne, faced a formidable path alongside Yang. Initially not slated to participate, Ding rose to the eighth seed after the six‑month disqualification of another Russian grandmaster, Sergey Karjakin, by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in March 2022. The Madrid ticket awaited him.
From the outset, the Chinese challenger bore immense pressure in the championship duel. Across a three‑week classical marathon, the Asian player, with Nepomniachtchi’s help, managed to tie the score after being three games behind at one point.
Playing black in yesterday’s game, Nepomniachtchi had an opportunity to close the match with a win. He chose a solid defensive approach rather than an all‑out attack, secured a draw, and shifted the match toward a tiebreak format.
In quick and then blitz chess, many analysts and fans believed Nepomniachtchi held the edge. The tiebreak opened with four games at 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. Across all four games, both players demonstrated high precision and avoided critical blunders that could tip the balance.
The final rapid game stretched the same narrative. Until move 47, a draw loomed, leading to a blitz decider. Yang’s careless pawn move on h4 opened the door for Ding Liren, who capitalized to seize the decisive advantage.
Immediately, computer evaluations leapt to around −3.5 for Yang, signaling a substantial edge for the world’s strongest players in a decisive encounter. Six minutes after move 48, Yang conceded as Ding Liren executed precise, clinically justified moves. The Chinese grandmaster appeared calm, collecting himself, while Nepomniachtchi sat with his head in his hands after the result.
Sergei Smagin, vice‑president of the Russian Chess Federation, spoke to a correspondent, noting that Nepomniachtchi tends to falter under intense pressure at decisive moments. Smagin indicated that Yang, too, mishandled critical moments in this game while Carlsen had shown similar vulnerabilities in the past. The dynamic in those high‑stakes moments, he said, often determines the outcome.
Smagin observed that Yang did not feel comfortable under maximum pressure and sometimes misread the critical turning points, whereas Ding Liren remained composed and precise, a combination that produced sharper, cleaner play. The veteran analyst attributed the triumph to Liren’s reliability under mounting tension.
Ding Liren, aged 30, became the first Chinese world chess champion and the 17th overall to hold the title. It is notable that compatriot Ju Wenjun, who has led women’s chess since 2018, also holds the women’s world championship.
Russia had waited 17 years for another world champion. The last Russian to hold the crown was Vladimir Kramnik, who governed from 2000, after unifying the title against Veselin Topalov, until 2007. In women’s world championship history, a Russian champion last emerged in 2008 when Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated Hou Yifan.
[citation: The following narrative reflects reported events and expert commentary on the world chess championship cycle through 2022–2023, as summarized by multiple sports outlets and federation statements. Specific attributions are provided in line with contemporary reporting practices.]