No ice cream or chilling for philosopher Ding Liren, Vishy Anand’s simul woes

The hory of the World Chess Championships informs us that Game 6 of the battle is usually where it all kicks off. If one is betting for a decisive game in the World Championship, Game 6 would be a safe horse to place stakes on.Both times Magnus Carlsen took on Viswanathan Anand, first in Chennai in 2013 and then in Sochi the next year, the Norwegian defeated the Indian in Game 6.
Game 6 is also where Bob Fischer defeated Boris Spassky in the iconic 1972 World Chess Championship to surge into the lead for the first time. Legend has it that the win was so good that Spassky had even bounced to his feet after the game and applauded the American.

Game 6 was also where Carlsen defeated Ian Nepomnichtchi for the first time in their 2021 World Chess Championship battle, a royal rumble that endured for almost eight hours with players making 136 moves each.
So plenty was expected from Sunday’s game between D Gukesh and Ding Liren. But fate — and Ding himself — had other ideas, playing on for a hard-fought draw against his 18-year-old challenger.
But at least the post-game press conference had a few moments of sparkle.
Ding not chillin’
After Game 5, Gukesh had spoken about how he was not aware of compatriot Nihal Sarin winning the President’s Cup in Uzbekan because he was only in contact with his inner circle for the World Chess Championship. Everything else was a draction and had been cut out.
Ding Liren too seems to have cut himself off from social media. He was asked after Game 6 if he had seen the now-viral phrase and meme of Ding Chillin’.
Gukesh and Ding Liren react during Game 6 of the World Chess Championship. (PHOTO: Eng Chin An via FIDE Flickr)
The phrase is a play on “bing chilling”, which is how the word ice-cream sounds in Mandarin (bing qi lin). The phrase “bing chilling” became popular world over when John Cena said it during a promotional video when visiting China.
Since Ding Liren was spotted sitting in his player’s lounge in an earlier game in a relaxed-looking state, fans aware of the “bing chilling” phrase adapted it to start referring to the world champion with the endearingly-coined Ding Chillin’.

Ding reacts to his Chilling Memes 😂❤️🫂
Edit: @ram_abhyudaya#chess #dingliren #gukesh pic.twitter.com/ZNWmlkjFKJ
— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) December 1, 2024
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Of course, the man in the middle of the meme was absolutely unaware of Ding Chillin’, or the meaning of the word ‘chilling’ itself.
“What does chilling mean?” he asked as the press room broke in loud guffaws.
Ding Liren smiled. Even Gukesh broke into a laugh at his rival’s answer.
When told the moderator, Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, that to chill means to relax and that there was also a connection to an ice cream brand in China, Ding Liren answered: “I didn’t have ice cream here.”
Philosopher Ding Liren
Ding was also grilled about his preparation in Game 6 when he halted to contemplate his next move despite being at the start of his prep. Specifically, he was asked why he was spending time thinking about his next move if he had already memorised the line before the game.
Gukesh and Ding Liren react during Game 6 of the World Chess Championship. (PHOTO: Eng Chin An via FIDE Flickr)
Ding Liren, who is known to occasionally name-drop philosophers, authors and poets in his replies, retorted: “Because there are so many lines to prepare and this was just one of the lines. Preparation is like an iceberg. You saw the position that arose (the tip of the iceberg). But there are a lot of preparations that didn’t appear on the board. It’s under the sea.”
World Champion dream
Both players were also asked a hypothetical question: what would be the first thing they do if they became world champion?
Gukesh replies with a smile: “I don’t know. I guess I will be happy first.”
Now Ding, who has already experienced the feeling last year, weighs in. “Last time I cried after winning the world title. This time I may smile.”
Simul trouble for Vishy Anand
On the sidelines of the World Chess Championship, five-time world champion Anand was playing a bunch of youngsters in a simultaneous exhibition match (also called simul) in Singapore. In a simul, a grandmaster walks around while simultaneously playing against multiple opponents on multiple boards.
Viswanathan Anand in the FIDE commentary box with GM David Howell and IM Jovanka Houska during Game 6 of the World Chess Championship betweenGukesh and Ding Liren. (PHOTO: Eng Chin An via FIDE Flickr)
Of course, Anand won all the games he played. But later on, he admitted that playing in simuls was getting trickier every passing year.
“Had a few cute games today. Giving a simul was a pleasure about 15-20 years back. Then it stopped being fun. Now you just work much harder. There are stories of players who sit there and work for four and five hours because their opponents find resources, they play well, they’re better prepared. The average level has gone up a lot. So it’s much harder these days,” Anand lamented on the FIDE YouTube stream in the middle of game 6 on Sunday.
“There are no easy games anymore. When a youngster plays a move, I think, ‘Oh my God!’ And then I calculate the whole line. Even if it’s an innocent move which is actually a bad move, you’re not sure anymore. Maybe the computer has said something. It scares the hell out of you,” shrugged Anand.