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China has its first official world chess champion, as Grandmaster Ding Liren defeated Russian rival Ian Nepomniachtchi in a playoff Sunday after their 14-game title match in Astana, Kazakhstan ended in a 7-7 tie.
The 30-year-old Mr. Ding succeeds Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, who declined to defend his title after a decade on the throne. Mr. Carlsen remains the world’s top-ranked player.
It was another heartbreak for Mr. Nepomniachtchi, who lost to Mr. Carlsen in his first bid for the title in 2021 and led for much of the match in Kazakhstan. He failed to score a clinching win in the match’s final games and then lost the final game of the four-round rapid chess playoff to fall short by a score of 2 1/2-1 1/2.
The decisive final game was a back-and-forth affair, with the Russian pressing too hard for a victory with White and allowing his opponent a strong counter-punch.
