Ding Liren began his reign as the 17th world chess champion by setting a new record for the 49 title matches in the historic competition dating back to 1886. The modest 30-year-old was the first player ever to win the crown leading only in the final game, defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi in their fourth rapid tie-breaker following their 7-7 score in the regular classical series.
Ding also did it with a defining move. His 46…Rg6!, boldly playing for the win by self-pinning his rook, his second most powerful piece, against his own king, shocked the grandmaster commentators as well as his Russian opponent. It was also the right decision in the context of the match, which was about to go into five-minute blitz, a format where Ding only had an inactive over-the-board rating, and where his few online competitive games had been marred by disconnections and the need to start play in the middle of the night to match his European and US opponents.
