Ding Liren (R) competes with Wei Yi in Hangzhou. They were the top two in Chinese men's chess team tryouts in April. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]
Ding Liren, the highest rated Chinese chess grandmaster, won the championship after an 11-day contest at the Hangzhou Qi-Yuan (Zhili) Chess Hall on April 24, securing his spot in the Chinese men's chess team for the upcoming 19th Asian Games.
Ma Qun, Wei Yi, Bu Xiangzhi and Xu Xiangyu, the other top four players on the list, have also been invited to compete at the Asian Games.
In addition to the national team tryouts, Ding also took part in the "Welcome Asian Games" international chess grandmaster invitational and rivalry tournaments this month.
"It was hard to compete in three games in a row in Hangzhou, but I tried my best and got the result I wanted," Ding said.
After a short rest, the national men's chess team members will attend a training session in Hangzhou, including a series of warm-up matches and internal combat exercises.
Ding, 29, was born in Wenzhou in East China's Zhejiang province on Oct 24, 1992. He is the highest rated Chinese chess player in history and also a three-time Chinese Chess Champion.
Ding was undefeated in classical chess games from August 2017 to November 2018, recording 29 victories and 71 draws. This 100-game winning streak was the longest in top-level chess history, until Magnus Carlsen surpassed it in 2019.
