Chinese grandmaster Ding Liren is now the number one Rapid player in the World! Ding Liren currently plays the Chinese Chess league which includes combined rapid and classical events. Scoring 3.5/4 points in the first four rounds, Ding Liren earned 2.6 rapid ELO points to overpass Magnus Carlsen on the live rapid rating list. The Chinese grandmaster now has a live rapid rating of 2836.6 while Carlsen holds second place with a 2834 rapid rating.
Ding Liren will next year have a chance to win the title of the World Chess Champion if he wins the World Chess Championship match against Ian Nepomniachtchi. Ian Nepomniachtchi qualified for the Championship with the triumph in the Candidates Tournaments, while Ding Liren got his seat after Carlsen’s withdrawal from the match. Magnus Carlsen recently withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup 2022 after losing to American GM Hans Niemann. All the news about the Niemann – Carlsen case can be found here
Ding Liren and Magnus Carlsen are currently the only two players in the world to have a classical ELO rating of 2800+. Carlsen is still “unreachable” with the classical live rating of 2856.3, as Ding Liren follows with 2805.8.
