Ding Liren is now on his way to Madrid where he will participate in the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022. Many chess fans were alarmed whether he will be on time for the opening ceremony and round 1, as the current pandemic lockdown could ruin his plans. His departure is late and chances are he will be jetlagged for the first rounds, but it is still a good news for the tournament that Ding Liren is on his way. More on the Candidates: Candidates Chess 2022 / Candidates 2022 pairings / Live games Candidates 2022 Candidates Chess Round 1, June 17: Duda – Rapport / Ding Liren – Nepomniachtchi / Caruana – Nakamura / Radjabov – Firouzja
The news about Ding Liren’s departure was confirmed by the Chinese Chess Association. After FIDE’s ban on Sergey Karjakin for 6 months, a replacement for the Russian player at the Candiadates Chess 2022 was needed. By the current regulations, the player to enter the event will be selected by rating – considering the FIDE rating list published on May 1 (something that Anish Giri vigorously protested in an interview during the ongoing Grand Prix in Berlin). The best Chinese chess player started his journey of 28 standard games on March 27th and finished the marathon on April 24th. The Chinese Chess Association organized a 4-player quadruple round-robin in Hangzhou (12 games); a 6-game match against Wei Yi (6 games); and finally a 10-round qualifier to the Asian Games (10 games). Completing 28 games with an impressive score of 20.5 points (13 victories, 15 draws and no loss), Ding Liren finished the quest of 26 games and became eligible to take Karjakin’s place in the Candidates. Recent: Ding Liren wins Chessable Masters 2022
Update: confirmed by Liang Ziming
