Ding Liren made history by becoming the 17th FIDE World Champion in chess, defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final game of the tiebreaks. In his first statement after the victory, Ding Liren explained his emotional reaction at the board: “I’m quite relieved. The moment Ian resigned the game was a very emotional moment. I couldn’t control my feelings. I know myself, I will cry and burst into tears. It was a tough tournament for me. I would like to thank my friends”. Read the full statement by Ding Liren here
Ian Nepomniachtchi was brief. He couldn’t hide how upset he is with a loss. “I guess I had a chance and many promising positions. Probably I should have tried to finish everything in the classical portion, because it was a matter of one or two precise moves. A tie-break is always some sort of a lottery, especially after a fourteen-game match. Probably my opponent made less mistakes, so that’s it“, said Nepo.
