Born on October 24, 1992, in China, Ding was introduced to chess by his mother at the age of four. Fortune, or destiny, had it that he was taught early on by Chen Lixing, who also coached former Women’s World Champion Zhu Chen. This led to Ding’s first of many notable successes on the global chess scene—tying for first place in both the Under-10 and Under-12 World Youth Championships (2003, 2004), though finishing second on tiebreaks in both events.

In 2009, at just 16 years old, Ding became the youngest-ever champion of China, announcing to the world what was to come. Thanks to his stellar performance at the national championship, he earned the Grandmaster title later that year. Ding would go on to claim the title of Chinese champion two more times, in 2011 and 2012.

After conquering China, the next stage was the world. In 2014, Ding’s performance earned China a gold medal at the Olympiad, and again in 2015 at the World Team Championships. That same year, he became the second Chinese player to enter the top 10, after Wang Yue.

Ding’s consistent and solid play led him to the finals of the 2017 and 2019 Chess World Cups, though he fell short in both events. Despite these narrow misses, Ding’s reputation as a world-class player continued to grow.

Another significant milestone came in 2018 when Ding won individual and team golds at the 43rd Chess Olympiad and became the first Chinese player to break the 2800 Elo rating, reaching a peak rating of 2816—the joint tenth highest in chess history. His firm and consistent performance earned him recognition as one of the most difficult players to beat in a game. And he proved it: from August 2017 to November 2018, Ding maintained an unbeaten streak in classical chess across 100 games, a feat surpassed only by Magnus Carlsen in 2019.

The year 2018 marked Ding’s peak, but also the beginning of his challenges. In his first shot at the world crown—the 2018 Candidates Tournament in Berlin—he drew 13 games and won just one out of 14. He silenced any doubts with his victory at the 2019 Sinquefield Cup, scoring 6.5/11 with a performance rating of 2845 and clinching the 2019 Grand Chess Tour title.

In 2020 came his second attempt at the Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Despite being a favourite, Ding finished with 7/14 and took fifth place.

His real shot at the title came in Madrid in 2022, at his third Candidates Tournament after a series of fortunate turns for Ding, defying the odds. He qualified for Madrid based on his rating, but only after playing a series of hastily organized tournaments in China and benefitting from Sergey Karjakin’s disqualification. Ding’s performance in the first half of the event was underwhelming—starting with a loss, followed by seven draws. However, he changed gears in the second half, scoring key victories over top players like Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, securing second place behind Ian Nepomniachtchi. Under normal circumstances, this would not have been enough for the World Championship match. However, with Magnus Carlsen refused to defend his title, the match was organized between Nepomniachtchi and Ding.

The 2022 World Championship match took place in Astana, Kazakhstan. Ding’s performance was shaky at the start, but so was Nepomniachtchi’s as the match progressed. At the end of the classical part of the match, the score was 7-7, leading to a rapid tiebreak. In the rapid match, where advantages were traded up and down, Ding triumphed 2½-1½, becoming the first Chinese player to win the Classical World Chess Champion title.

However, his monumental achievement in 2023 soon became overshadowed by struggles. After winning the World Championship, Ding’s performance dipped as he cited personal difficulties and battling depression. This led to a nine-month break from chess in 2024, skipping major events to prioritize mental health. Ding returned to the chessboard later that year at the TATA Steel tournament and the 45th Chess Olympiad, showing that he is still in the game and remains a force to be reckoned with.

Gukesh’s final grand appearance before the title match was at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, where, playing on board one, he scored a phenomenal nine points out of ten games, leading his team to their first-ever team gold in the event.