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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Leonard Barden

Chess: World title match gets under way in Astana without Magnus Carlsen

Magnus Carlsen Ian Nepomniachtchi Ding Liren Astana Bobby Fischer Lei Tingjie Anatoly Karpov Candidates FIDE Garry Kasparov
Ding Liren (left) and Ian Nepomniachtchi face off in the Candidates in June of 2022
Ding Liren (left) and Ian Nepomniachtchi met in the Candidates in June of 2022 and now will play each other again, this time for the world title. Photograph: Miguel Pereira/Getty Images

Ian Nepomniachtchi, 32, and Ding Liren, 30, Russia’s world No 2 and China’s world No 3, begin their €2m 14-game title match on Sunday at 10am BST in Astana, Kazakhstan. Nepomniachtchi will play under a neutral Fide flag.

While the pair push their first pawns, Magnus Carlsen, who announced several months ago that he would be abdicating after a highly successful 10-year reign, will be relaxing on his skiing holiday in Chamonix after competing in this week’s online Chessable Masters.

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