Primum vivere deinde philosophari

Leonard Barden, the dean of chess journalism, devotes most of his The Guardian weekly column to 17th World Chess Champion 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), who is scheduled to return to the board at the 86th Tata Steel Chess Tournament this January, after an eight-month absence due to an unspecified illness. “丁 (Dīng) will face five of the eight Candidates: Nepomniachtchi, the Indian trio of Vidit Gujrathi, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Dommaraju Gukesh, plus France’s Alireza Firouzja, whose last-minute qualification via the Rouen Open has been confirmed as valid by FIDE. Another notable participant is 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn), the women’s world champion”, Barden writes. Of course, there is much curiosity and expectation as to 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)’s performance, while his numerous fans are keeping their fingers crossed that everything goes well.