“Doesn’t seem like the same person:” Hikaru delivers devastating verdict on world chess champion

Taking the opportunity to discuss their ongoing game in the “confessional booth,” Hikaru Nakamura voiced his concerns about the current classical world chess champion, Ding Liren—and his thoughts echoed the ongoing discussion about the Chinese player’s mental state elsewhere in the chess world.

The ongoing Norway Chess supertournament offers an interesting opportunity for players in the form of a “confessional booth” to let viewers into their thought process during the game. Unsurprisingly, Hikaru Nakamura is the player who makes use of this the most, and he did it again during his match with world champion Ding Liren.

The American had some interesting insights to offer about his opponent, saying, “you know, I played Ding many times, we’re colleagues over the years, but he definitely doesn’t seem like the same person. I’m not sure if it’s visible on the video, but I was actually starting to struggle and keep my composure because at some moment he started, like, bouncing up and down.” He went on to say, “When your opponent seems as though something’s wrong it’s very hard to not feel bad for them, so it’s kind of awkward, actually, because he just doesn’t seem right.”

This isn’t the first time questions have been asked about Ding Liren’s mental fortitude and devastatingly poor performances since he’s claimed his world championship title against Ian Nepomniatchchi. Ding himself has said that “there is something wrong with my mind” during the match, and recently, Carlsen has also said that his successor seems “broken”.

Ding Liren’s next world championship challenger is Gukesh D, the young Indian grandmaster who triumphed in this year’s Candidates Tournament in an exciting photo finish. With Ding’s continued struggles in competitive events, questions keep on swirling about his ability to mount a meaningful title defense.

Nakamura went on to win the game in just 54 moves, but the outcome was never in doubt after Ding’s blunder on move 26. The victory kept the American grandmaster on the top of the standings after five rounds of play, with Magnus Carlsen just one point behind at the halfway point. Meanwhile, Ding Liren has sunk to the bottom of the scoreboard, with three losses and two draws in the classical games.