China's Ding Liren has been crowned the 17th world chess champion after beating Russian-born Ian Nepomniachtchi in a tense stand-off in Kazakhstan's Astana. 

Ding's triumph means China now holds both the men's and women's world titles, with current women's champion Ju Wenjun set to defend her title against compatriot Lei Tingjie in July.

The 30-year-old won the rapid chess playoff by 2.5 points to 1.5, capitalizing on his opponent's mistakes, following the pair's 7-7 tie across 14 longer "classical" games.

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"The moment Ian resigned the game was a very emotional moment, I cannot control my feelings," the new world champion said in a press conference.

The Chinese grandmaster takes the title from five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who beat Nepomniachtchi in 2021 but announced in July he would not defend the title again this year. Carlsen said he did not want to play shortly after Nepomniachtchi won the Candidates tournament, the qualifier to the match. Ding, a runner-up in the Candidates, was next in line.

The Chinese national ranks third in the International Chess Federation rating list behind Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi. The new champion will attend from May 4 the first tournament of the Grand Chess Tour in Bucharest, Romania after being grounded by the pandemic for much of the last three years. 

Speaking to CGTN Europe in an exclusive interview last year, he shared his theory on unlocking the talent needed to reach the highest level of his sport.

"A chess player, no matter if he is introverted or extroverted, has a very calm and steady side. When he is playing, he is able to concentrate on the board and think about the game and the possible changes," he said. 

Check out the full interview with Ding – including the one thing he always takes with him when he leaves China – here.

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