n an October evening in 2021, the who’s who of China’s chess world gathered at Beijing’s elite Peking University. The occasion was to celebrate the 30th year anniversary of the victory of Chinese chess legend Xie Jun, the first Asian woman to become a grandmaster and China’s first world champion. The location of the event wasn’t an accident — Beijing’s most famous university had, over the years, become a factory for China’s chess talent. Speaking to the students, Xie encouraged them to devote their talents to chess. One of the top Communist Party officials in charge of the university, Li Xiaopeng, hailed Xie’s example that evening and told the students to follow in her footsteps. “Life,” Li said, “is like a chess game”.
In attendance that evening was Peking University’s next great chess talent — and the latest heir to Xie’s mantle — Ding Liren (30), who had already made waves in China as a national champion and earlier that year, finished fourth in the Goldmoney Asian Rapid tournament (losing the third place match to Magnus Carlsen).
Few in Beijing that evening might have expected Ding to, less than two years on, replicate Xie’s success. On April 30, Ding was crowned world champion — China’s first male champion — defeating Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi in Astana, Kazakhstan. China now holds both men’s and women’s titles, with Ju Wenjun the reigning women’s champion.
