World Chess Championship 2023

World Chess Championship 2023

St Regis Hotel, Astana, Kazakhstan
9–30 April 2023
	Ian Nepomniachtchi	Ding Liren
	7 (1½) Scores 7 (2½) Game 1 ½ 49 move draw ½ Game 2 1 ← 29 moves 0 Game 3 ½ 30 move draw ½ Game 4 0 47 moves → 1 Game 5 1 ← 48 moves 0 Game 6 0 44 moves → 1 Game 7 1 ← 37 moves 0 Game 8 ½ 45 move draw ½ Game 9 ½ 82 move draw ½ Game 10 ½ 45 move draw ½ Game 11 ½ 39 move draw ½ Game 12 0 38 moves → 1 Game 13 ½ 40 move draw ½ Game 14 ½ 90 move draw ½ Tiebreak Game 15 ½ 35 move draw ½ Tiebreak Game 16 ½ 47 move draw ½ Tiebreak Game 17 ½ 33 move draw ½ Tiebreak Game 18 0 68 moves → 1
	Born 14 July 1990 32 years old	Born 24 October 1992 30 years old
	Winner of the Candidates Tournament 2022	Runner-up of the Candidates Tournament 2022
	Rating: 2795 (World No. 2)	Rating: 2788 (World No. 3)
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The World Chess Championship 2023 was a chess match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren to determine the new World Chess Champion. The match took place in Astana, Kazakhstan, from 9 April to 30 April 2023, and was a best of 14 games, plus tiebreaks.^[1]

The previous champion Magnus Carlsen decided not to defend his title against Ian Nepomniachtchi, the winner of the Candidates Tournament 2022, stating he was "not motivated to play another match".^[2][3] As a result, Nepomniachtchi played against Ding Liren, who finished second in the Candidates Tournament.

After a 7–7 score tie in the classical time format — in which five of the first seven games were decisive — on 30 April, the match proceeded to tiebreaks with rapid time format. After draws in the first three games, Ding won with black in the final game to become the 17th World Chess Champion.^[4] Ding also became the first Chinese chess player to hold the title and, jointly with the 2020 women's world chess champion Ju Wenjun, made China the holder of both the open and women's world titles.^[5]

Ding gained a place in the Candidates only because Sergey Karjakin, whom he replaced, was sanctioned for supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ding had been unable to play throughout much of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, and had to play a number of hastily arranged matches to reach the minimum FIDE activity requirements to secure his place in the tournament. Nepomniachtchi won the Candidates, but Ding secured second place by beating Hikaru Nakamura in a must-win final-round game. Carlsen then relinquished his title, allowing Ding to play for the title despite not winning the Candidates. Nepomniachtchi took the lead three times during the match, but Ding evened the score each time, forcing a tiebreak. After three draws in the rapid tiebreaks, Ding won the fourth game to take the championship. Ding's path to winning the title was called "most improbable" by The Guardian.^[6][7]