Ding Liren becomes first Chinese world chess champion after defeating Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi

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. Despite a shortage of time, Mr. Ding played the final phase strongly to force resignation after 68 moves.

The Ding victory means China now claims the open and the women’s world chess titles. GM Ju Wenjun will be defending her women’s world crown in a match against fellow Chinese star GM Lei Tingjie in July. The last time both world titles were held by players from the same country was before the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

Mr. Ding is also the second Asian player to win the world chess title. India’s Viswanathan Anand was champion from 2007 to 2013 before losing to Mr. Carlsen.

Mr. Ding earned $1.1 million for the win and Mr. Nepomniachtchi $900,000. The victory reportedly set off a major celebration on China’s Weibo social media site.

The moves of the final rapid game were:

Nepomniachtchi-Ding