Ding Liren is 34 years old as of October 2026. He was born on 24 October 1992.
Chinese grandmaster who won the 2023 World Chess Championship against Ian Nepomniachtchi, becoming China's first men's world champion
Did you know?He once maintained a record-breaking unbeaten streak of one hundred games in top-level international chess competitions.
Quick facts
Date of birth24 October 1992
Age34
NationalityChinese
BirthplaceWenzhou, People's Republic of China
Occupationchess player
Editor's Take:
Ding Liren became China's first world chess champion. He grew up in Wenzhou and learned the game from his mother at the age of four. He won the Chinese championship three times as a young player. By the late 2010s he was among the world's top three, and in 2017 to 2018 he went 100 games without a loss at elite level. He reached the 2023 world championship match after Magnus Carlsen declined to defend his title. He beat Ian Nepomniachtchi in a tense rapid tie-break in Astana. He later spoke openly about depression after the match. He lost the title to India's Gukesh Dommaraju in Singapore in 2024.
Key Milestones
2009: Wins his first Chinese championship and becomes a grandmaster
2018: Completes a 100-game unbeaten run at elite level
2023: Becomes world chess champion in Astana
2024: Loses the title to Gukesh Dommaraju
Ding Liren (born 24 October 1992) is a Chinese chess grandmaster who was the 17th World Chess Champion from 2023–24. He is a three-time Chinese Chess Champion and was part of the Chinese teams that won the Chess Olympiads in 2014 and 2018.
