Ding surpasses Tal's chess record with 96 unbeaten games

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China's chess talent Ding Liren has challenged both himself and the undefeated world record with his 96th streak at the Shenzhen Masters on Monday, surpassing the former Soviet master Mikhail Tal's 95-game unbeaten mark between 1973 and 1974.

The 24-year-old world No. 4 played White against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France and ended in a draw. The 28-year-old French was World Junior Champion in 2009, and a three-time French Champion in 2007, 2011 and a shared one in 2012.

The current world record holder is Russian-Dutch chess guru Sergey Tiviakov who played 110 games from 2004 to 2005 with classical time control in eleven months and did not lose a single one. Therefore, Tiviakov, who is now coaching on chess, is named the "master of technique."

In comparison, Ding has not suffered any defeat since August last year, and his game run is still ongoing. In his overall 96 games, Ding had 28 wins and 68 draws. It included his draw confronting with the world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway at the European Club Cup on October 18.

The full name of the Shenzhen event is Belt and Road 2018 Second DT News Cup Shenzhen Longgang Chess Grandmaster Tournament which started on November 4 and will run until November 14. Russian-born Dutch chess player Anish Giri, Poland's Radosław Wojtaszek, and China's Yu Yangyi also competed during the Shenzhen Masters.