On the last day of April, under the glass dome of the Wyndham Garden Astana in Kazakhstan, Chinese Chess player Ding Liren defeated Russian player Nepomniachtchi in the final round of a four-round rapid chess playoff to become the 17th "World Chess Champion" since the first champion of modern international chess in 1886, and the first "World Chess Champion" from China.
It has been a long and arduous journey for Ding Liren.
Born in October 1992 in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, a city renowned for its chess culture, he showed exceptional talent at a young age. He was the first Chinese chess player to break through the Elo mark of 2800 on the world chess ranking by FIDE, set a world record of 100 consecutive unbeaten slow games, and even defeated Magnus Carlsen, the 16th World Chess Champion.
In 2018 and 2020, Ding Liren made it to the FIDE Candidates Tournament by finishing as the runner-up in the FIDE World Cup, achieving fourth and sixth place, respectively. These two experiences planted the seeds in his mind to strive for becoming the "World Chess Champion".
On the occasion of World Chess Day on July 20, 2022, while the world is celebrating, the reigning world chess champion, Magnus Carlsen, announced that he will not seek to defend his title, meaning that the 2023 FIDE World Championship will feature the winners of the Candidates Tournament, Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren.
This marks the first opportunity for a Chinese male chess player to contend for the world championship.
Ding Liren's journey to the top was not an easy one. He faced numerous setbacks, including missing out on qualifying matches, but managed to make it to the Candidate Tournament as a replacement. He started off slow in the Candidate Tournament but managed to finish second. Later, he unexpectedly qualified for the World Chess Championship and faced several moments where he was behind in the game but managed to catch up and turn things around. He never wasted any opportunity, no matter how small. In the end, he proved that "luck favors the prepared".
Ding Liren finally crowned himself as the "World Chess Champion", and China's 35-year-old "Four Steps" strategy had finally paid off: first winning the women's individual world championship, then the women's team world championship, followed by the men's team entering the top ranks of the world championships, and finally, winning the men's individual world championship.
The last piece of the puzzle for the "Grand Slam" of world chess champions was completed by Ding's victory, making the Chinese team one of only three superpowers in the world to have accomplished this feat. From Liu Wenzhe and Qi Jingxuan in the early years to Xie Jun, Ye Jiangchuan, Xu Jun, and now, Hou Yifan, Ju Wenjun, and Ding Liren, generations of top-notch Chinese players have never stopped striving for the summit.
Ding Liren's tumultuous journey to the top is a microcosm of China's chess development over the past 30 years. More than two decades ago, a young boy, after watching Xie Jun's chess game, became determined to become a top chess player. Now, thanks to Ding's championship victory, countless young people will likely be inspired to follow in his footsteps and enter the world of international chess.
特別報道｜丁立人，中國首位「世界棋王」是如何煉成的
4月的最後一天，哈薩克斯坦阿斯塔納冬季花園的玻璃穹頂下，中國棋手丁立人在四盤快棋加賽的最後一盤力克俄羅斯棋手涅波姆尼亞奇，成為1886年現代國際象棋第一位世界冠軍誕生迄今的第17位「世界棋王」，也是第一位來自中國的「世界棋王」。
這一路，比任何人想像的都更為漫長。
丁立人1992年10月出生於有着「國際象棋之城」的美譽的浙江溫州。丁立人早早就展露出過人的天賦，他是首位突破2800分的中國棋手，創造過100盤慢棋不敗的世界紀錄，還曾經擊敗「世界棋王」卡爾森。
在2018年和2020年兩度憑藉世界盃亞軍晉級候選人賽，丁立人分別獲得第四名和第六名。這兩次參賽經歷已在他心中埋下了衝擊「世界棋王」挑戰權的種子。
2022年，當世界各地正慶祝7月20日世界國象日之際，時任世界冠軍卡爾森宣布他將不再爭取衛冕，這意味着2023年世界冠軍賽的雙方將是候選人賽的冠軍涅波與亞軍丁立人。
這是中國男子國象棋手第一次有機會爭奪世界冠軍。
從頻頻錯過資格賽，到遞補進入候選人賽；從候選人賽的低開高走奪亞軍，到亞軍意外遞補獲得世界冠軍賽資格；三度落後三度追平，每每命懸一線，卻總能起死回生。這一路丁立人沒有浪費每一個看似不是機會的機會，最終證明了「幸運女神更青睞有準備的人」。
丁立人如願加冕「世界棋王」，中國國象人35年的「四步走」戰略終於大功告成：先奪得女子個人世界冠軍，再衝擊女子團體世界冠軍，接着是男子團隊進入世界賽前列，最後奪得男子個人世界好名次。
世界冠軍「大滿貫」的最後一塊拼圖被丁立人的奪冠圓滿填上，中國隊成了世界僅有的三個完成這一偉業的超級強隊之一。從早年的劉文哲、戚驚萱，到謝軍、葉江川、徐俊，再到如今的侯逸凡、居文君、丁立人，一代代國手們從未停止勇攀高峰的步伐。
丁立人的這趟無比崎嶇、一波三折的奪冠之旅，恰也是中國國象這三十年發展的縮影寫照。20多年前，年幼的丁立人在現場觀摩了謝軍的棋賽後，堅定了成為頂級棋手的夢想。如今，又將有無數青少年將因為丁立人的奪冠，就此埋下走進國際象棋世界的種子。(更多新聞資訊，請關注羊城派 pai.ycwb.com)
文 | 羊城晚報全媒體記者 趙亮晨
圖片 | 新華社
翻譯 | 劉佳慧
來源 | 羊城晚報·羊城派
責編 | 戚美青
校對 | 趙丹丹
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