Ding Liren Is Back: World Champion Returns To Classical Action This Month

While the chess world's attention is firmly fixed on the drama of the FIDE Candidates Tournament—where GM Javokhir Sindarov is tearing it up—the top players may be intrigued to hear that a former champion, GM Ding Liren, is back.

This month marks the long-awaited return to over-the-board classical chess of the 17th World Champion who reigned from 2023 to 24.

After stepping away following the 2024 title match, which seemed to take everything out of him, Ding is easing back into competition with a couple of significant team events on home soil.

He has already joined forces with GM Ju Wenjun, the Women's World Champion, and three-time Chinese Champion GM Yu Yangyi in the ongoing SCO Team Tournament. It appears to be a low-key but meaningful re-entry—less about headlines, more about finding rhythm.

Ding has also recently been spotted commentating on the Candidates on BiliBili, the south-east Asian social network. Ding's countryman GM Wei Yi is there flying the flag for China.

There's more. From April 19 to 27, Ding will represent his home province Zhejiang in the Chinese Team Championship. That event will mark his first classical games since lifting the world title in 2024.

Ding's return is a big deal. Over the course of his career, Ding has been regarded as one of the most naturally gifted players of his generation.

He reached a peak rating of 2816, won elite events such as Tata Steel Chess, captured Olympiad team golds with China, and once went 100 consecutive classical games without a loss, one of the longest unbeaten streaks in modern chess history.

The chess community was sad when he stepped away.

In January, having not played a single classical game in 2025, China's first undisputed world chess champion was officially listed as inactive in classical chess following FIDE's monthly rating update.

But not long after, in an interview with the Substack blogger Jonathan Zhi, Ding explained a little about his motivations and even hinted at a return.

How sharp will he be? What kind of openings will he bring? And perhaps most interestingly: what version of Ding are we about to see?