Ding Liren (born 24 October 1992) is a Chinese chess grandmaster and the current World Chess Champion (as of 2023/24). He became the first Chinese player to hold the title after defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi in a thrilling match in Astana. Known for his resilience and positional understanding, Ding went on a 100-game unbeaten streak in classical chess from 2017 to 2018, a record at the time. Ding's path to the title was miraculous: he only qualified for the Candidates Tournament because Sergey Karjakin was banned, and he only played the World Championship match because Magnus Carlsen abdicated. Despite struggling with form and mental health issues post-championship, he remains a history-maker for Asian chess.