After over three decades of unwavering perseverance, China finally scratched their world champion itch with Ding Liren's sensational ascent to the summit of chess. 

The 30-year-old Chinese grandmaster, who had only been granted the chance to compete at World Chess Championship after top-ranked Magnus Carlsen chose not to defend his title, outclassed Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi by 2.5 points to 1.5 in a nerve-wracking tiebreak playoff on Sunday. 

The hard-fought triumph came after the regulation portion of the final ended 7-7 after 14 grueling games. Ding, who never once led in the three-week finale, took advantage of Nepomniachtchi's lethal mistake in the fourth and final tiebreaker, forcing his opponent to resign after 68 moves. 

"The moment Ian resigned the game was a very emotional moment," said Ding, who became China's first ever male world chess champion. "I couldn't control my feelings. I know myself, I will cry and burst into tears. It was a tough tournament for me." 

"I've been experiencing some anxiety and getting lost in my thoughts," he added. A "friend suggested that this may be due to the pressure of the competition, much like what happened when Argentina won the [Qatar] World Cup. Fortunately, my friend has been a great help to me in managing these pressures."

The final piece of the jigsaw  

Ding's victory means China now holds both the men's and women's world titles, with current women's champion Ju Wenjun set to face her compatriot Lei Tingjie in a title-decider in July.  

It also capped off decades of stunning breakthroughs for China. Starting from Xie Jun's groundbreaking victory in the women's World Chess Championship in 1991, Chinese chess has been scaling new heights on the global stage.

From the Chinese women's team clinching their first Chess Olympiad in 1998, to the Chinese men's team toppling the 87-year-old dominance of European and American chess players to claim their first Chess Olympiad in 2014, and culminating in Ding's impressive capture of the world championship, China has cemented its place among the very best in the world chess scene.

"The significance of this championship cannot be understated, as it rivals the importance of the one I won 32 years ago," said Xie, who is now the vice president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE). 

"After more than 30 years of tireless effort, Chinese chess has succeeded in creating a vibrant oasis in the desert, which has now grown into a thriving forest."

"This achievement signifies the elevation of Chinese male players to the very peak of the professional chess world, something we have been anticipating for far too long."

From child prodigy to world champion

As only the 17th world chess champion in the tournament's 137-year history, Ding demonstrated remarkable aptitude for chess from a tender age.  

Born in Wenzhou, he clinched the national championship for six-year-olds at the age of five. By the time he reached first grade, his father, who taught him how to play, had become one of his defeated opponents. When he was nine years old, he won the national championship for players under 10 years old.

In 2009, Ding was crowned as China's youngest national chess champion at 17. The precocious wunderkind, who exhibits a remarkable sense of poise and composure on the chessboard that belies his age, went on to become the country's highest-ranked player.

He currently sits third in the FIDE rating list behind Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi and played an instrumental role in securing two Chess Olympiad titles for China, first in 2014 and then again in 2018.

While no Chinese man had ever previously won the World Chess Championship, Ding's history-making victory holds immense importance and meaning. 

"Now that Ding has become such a powerful role model, we are confident that more and more young people will be drawn to the world of chess," said Xie. "This, in turn, will likely lead to improvements in areas such as tournament organization, social visibility, and policy support."