Still need to do a lot to prove I belong: Ding

DING Liren is the current world champion in chess.

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Yet, he speaks with a rare candour for somebody who holds that title.

At least some of his waking thoughts revolve around not wanting to be known as the 'weakest champion'.

"If I always finish in the last place," he told this daily in an interaction days ahead of Norway Chess, where he's scheduled to take part against the likes of Magnus Carlsen and R Praggnanadhaa, “then people will say he's the weakest champion." There's a reason behind why he thinks like this. Since his coronation last year (he beat Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi in tie-breaks in April 2023), Liren has been on a prolonged downward trajectory. It even led to Carlsen speculating whether winning the title 'completely broke' him.

After beating Nepomniachtchi, Liren immediately took part in the first leg of the Grand Chess Tour in Bucharest. He finished eighth in a field of 10. After that event in Romania, the Chinese inexplicably shut down his year. While the world of chess carried on, the champion was seemingly on an indefinite holiday. He didn't grant interviews and there were no explanations for his absence.