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Right after becoming the 17th undisputed world chess champion in April last year, Ding Liren finished eighth at the Superbet Classic in Romania. Due to fatigue and health-related issues, he refrained from participating in rated tournaments until January this year. Three underwhelming performances followed, at the Tata Steel Masters, the Freestyle G.O.A.T. Challenge and the Grenke Chess Classic. The world champion is now set to face an extremely strong field, including Magnus Carlsen, at the Norway Chess super-tournament.
Now that we know that Gukesh will be the next challenger for the world crown, Indian mainstream media is interested in learning more about the current champion. In an interview conducted by Amit Kamath for The Indian Express, Ding talked about his expectations for the event in Stavanger, the pressures connected to having become the world champion and his preparation for the World Championship match against Gukesh.
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On Magnus Carlsen’s comments about him possibly being “permanently broken”.
He tried to state the truth. He said what he feels. After the world championship, it was very difficult (time) for me, at first I was exhausted (by the rigours of competing at the World Championship). Then, I was ill. But now I can say that I have recovered from the illness. But still, my strength is not back to my best version.
On his latest performances in elite events.
It was interesting. At Wijk aan Zee, I was aiming to finish first. It didn’t go so well. I finished near the bottom (of the standings). At Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T Challenge, I finished last. That was a big shock to me. Norway Chess will be a totally new challenge for me. There will be many strong players competing. My aim is not to finish in last place.
On the possibility of the World Championship match taking place in India.
I don’t think there’s an advantage to playing the World Chess Championship at home. I prefer to play away from home. Be it in India or any other country, rather than China. If you play in your home country, there will be so many people who will come to meet you and give you a lot of pressure. It’s hard to deal with it.
On him recovering his best form before the match for the crown.
I hope so. There are still many tournaments ahead. I need to show at least my second-best version (smiles).
Read the full interview on The Indian Express website...
Ding Liren had a tough time at the Freestyle G.O.A.T. Challenge | Photo: Nils Rohde
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