'It's not just luck but what you make out of luck that matters more,' goes the famous adage. While that holds true for both the finalists of the World Chess Championship Match — champion Ding Liren and challenger D Gukesh — the Indian's story is even more fascinating.
It is well documented that Ding came into the World Championship picture only because China organised some games for him and met FIDE's minimum-games-played criteria. Then, despite not winning the 2022 Candidates, he still got a shot at the title because Magnus Carlsen withdrew before the 2023 Match.
