Ding On Rapport And 3 Weeks Of World Championship Prep
GM Ding Liren said at the 2024 FIDE World Championship opening press conference he'd been preparing for just three weeks. A slip of the tongue? No! In an exclusive interview with FM Mike Klein the reigning world champion confirmed he meant it, though his team, including "very fun guy" GM Richard Rapport, had been working on ideas in advance.
After the opening press conference in Singapore on Saturday, Ding sat down with Chesscom and Klein to talk more about the match that starts Monday.
Ding revealed his motivation to win has grown since he's arrived in Singapore, and that he'd no longer be happy to suffer a glorious defeat after reaching tiebreaks—something he'd contemplated earlier this year. He also pointed out the loser of the match no longer automatically qualifying for the next Candidates Tournament "encourages the players to fight harder and harder for a better result."
He also touched on sitting out the clash with GM Gukesh Dommaraju at the Budapest Olympiad, and his regrets over that decision after China lost the match to India.
The single most memorable statement of the opening ceremony was Ding's revelation that he'd only done three weeks of preparation, a shocking statement given Gukesh has likely been hard at work since winning the Candidates seven months ago.
Ding Liren: "I started to prepare for this tournament 3 weeks ago, I guess"#DingGukesh pic.twitter.com/PvXhY2pi5y
— chess24 (@chess24com) November 23, 2024
Did Ding mean to say "months?" No! He told Klein that he hadn't started to prepare himself until after the Olympiad.
"So my seconds start earlier, and we just came together after the Budapest Olympiad. So I think three weeks is the time I meet my second and we talk together and I go to see the lines he prepared for me, the ideas he reserved for me."
Three weeks is the time I meet my second and we talk together and I go to see the lines he prepared for me.
—Ding Liren on preparing for three weeks
Who are Ding's seconds? Well, the one we now know about is Rapport, with Ding explaining they hadn't really been in contact since winning the previous match until they both played the GRENKE Chess Classic in Germany in April.
"I told him he's very famous in China after last year's world championship match. He said he's very happy about that. I only came to invite him to second me this championship several months ago and he agreed, and we started to work together again."
I told him he's very famous in China after last year's world championship match.
—Ding Liren on Richard Rapport
What's the appeal of Rapport as a second?
"The first that comes to mind is he prepares some of my opening ideas like last time, some interesting ideas that I can use if the match is heating up. Also he’s a very fun guy, and he makes some jokes when we train together. He gives us a good atmosphere before the match starts."
There's not long to wait now, since Gukesh has White vs. Ding when the 14-game 2024 FIDE World Championship kicks off at 4 a.m. ET / 10:00 CET / 2:30 p.m. IST tomorrow, Monday, November 25.
Previous World Championship Coverage:
- Gukesh White Vs. 'At Peace' Ding Liren For Game 1 Of World Championship
- 'We Could See A Bloodbath!' Carlsen & Co. On Ding-Gukesh
- Gukesh Vs Ding: Here's What The Numbers Say
- Who Will Win The World Championship? Vidit, Giri Predict Gukesh Dominance Over Ding
- Ding Admits Fears Ahead Of Gukesh Match: 'Worried About Losing Very Badly'
- Gukesh: 'I'm Quite Eager To Start The Match'
- Google Announced As Title Sponsor For Ding-Gukesh World Championship
- New Ding-Gukesh World Championship Rules Encourage Faster, More Decisive Games
- Ding-Gukesh World Championship Match Venue Announced
- All about the 2024 FIDE World Championship match
Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.
