Ding Liren Faces Immense Pressure as He Defends Chess World Championship Against Gukesh D

Ding Liren sat slumped over the chessboard, pieces scattered before him, moments after claiming the Chess World Championship title last year. His head bowed and expression blank, he appeared to gather himself after an exhausting battle against Ian Nepomniachtchi. The duel, spanning three weeks, had pushed both players to their limits, demanding unbroken concentration as even the smallest lapse could lead to defeat.

The Chess World Championship is a rare and prestigious event, first held 138 years ago. Remarkably, only 17 individuals have held the title since its inception. Bobby Fischer, the sole American to achieve this honor, famously remarked, “Chess demands total concentration,” emphasizing the mental endurance required to claim the sport’s greatest prize.

Viswanathan Anand, a five-time world champion, compared the championship to scaling the highest peaks. “It’s our Mount Olympus,” he explained to CNN Sport. “It’s the thing you spend a lot of time trying to achieve, aiming for, dreaming of, since you learned the game. It’s like climbing Mount Everest or crossing the Amazon.”

This year’s championship begins Monday in Singapore, where Ding will defend his title against 18-year-old Indian prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju, known as Gukesh D. If victorious, Gukesh would become the youngest world champion in chess history.

According to Malcolm Pein, chess correspondent for The Daily Telegraph, the mental and physical strain of such tournaments is staggering. “You lose weight during a chess tournament of this intensity. The pressure is absolutely enormous,” he told CNN Sport. “A lot of the time, it comes down to exhaustion. Players are very well-matched, very prepared. It’s very hard to get an advantage, but sooner or later somebody becomes tired, and that might make them make a mistake.”

Despite the growing popularity of rapid and blitz chess formats and the absence of Magnus Carlsen—widely regarded as the world’s best player—the championship title retains its allure, transcending the sport itself.

However, Ding’s journey to this year’s tournament has been fraught with challenges. After his victory, he faced personal struggles and mental health issues, taking a prolonged hiatus to recover. Describing his current state to the chess YouTube channel “Take Take Take,” Ding admitted, “I am not so bad, not so good,” and characterized himself as the “underdog” in this competition.

Epic Rivalries and Endurance

The history of the Chess World Championship is filled with legendary rivalries, most notably the 1984 showdown between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. Their grueling battle lasted five months and 48 games as they vied for six victories to secure the title. Karpov initially surged to a 5-0 lead, but Kasparov mounted a fierce comeback, winning three games and closing the gap to 5-3. Despite his momentum, the match was controversially halted to preserve the players’ health, as Karpov had lost 22 pounds during the ordeal.

While today’s championships are shorter, lasting weeks rather than months, the immense pressure remains. Danny Rensch, chief chess officer at Chess.com, noted the varied strategies players use to manage stress. “Some of them have the habit of getting up and not actually spending a lot of time sitting at the board when it’s not their turn … to keep their blood flowing. Some of them do this just because that’s how they deal with the stress and nerves,” Rensch explained to CNN Sport. Others, he added, remain seated and focused throughout the match.

Chess unfolds largely in the mind, where players must calculate and anticipate multiple moves ahead. As Pein outlined, several critical questions arise after an opponent’s move: “Why did they make that move? What’s changed on the board? Is there a threat? And is there a threat to my position from this move directly? And who do I think stands better, and why?” These intricate considerations can stretch games for hours; in 2021, Carlsen needed seven hours and 47 minutes to defeat Nepomniachtchi in a single game en route to his fifth world title.

The Importance of Rest

To endure such marathon sessions, players must prioritize rest between games. “Sleep is the most important thing,” Anand emphasized, noting it must be a restful sleep free from lingering thoughts about past or future games. “There’s no point tossing and turning … because you either can’t get the previous game out of your head, or you’re worried about the next one.” To ensure deep rest, Anand often exercised before bed, exhausting himself enough to fall asleep.

Physical fitness plays a vital role in maintaining the concentration required for chess. During his championship training, Anand incorporated running and cycling into his routine, spending an hour each morning building endurance before devoting six to seven hours to chess preparation. This preparation involved analyzing potential opening moves and anticipating opponents’ strategies, often with the help of trainers and, more recently, computer algorithms.

“They’re not training for a physical activity,” Rensch noted. “They’re training to make sure that they’re in great shape, overall physical fitness, allowing for proper blood flow, and all the things that can help a human being maintain a super high level of concentration for hours at a time.”

The Road to the Championship

Reaching the Chess World Championship is a monumental feat in itself. Before facing the reigning champion, challengers must win the Candidates Tournament, which features the world’s top players based on performances throughout the year.

Anand recalled the arduous journey leading to his first championship match against Kasparov in 1995. “I had been playing to qualify for the event for five years, so there was a long journey already,” he said.

For many players, the championship represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The immense stakes and emotional toll can leave lasting scars on those who fall short. “Of all the people who lost a world championship match, it took them a while to recover before they even started playing well again or at their previous level,” Pein observed. “It’s such a blow … So it affects people quite badly.”

As Ding prepares to defend his title and Gukesh eyes history, the weight of this monumental tournament looms large. Both players face not only their opponents but the psychological and physical challenges that define the Chess World Championship.