CNN  —  Ding Liren slumped over the board with fallen chess pieces scattered in front of him in the moments after he won the Chess World Championship last year. His head bowed, his expression blank, he seemed as if he was collecting himself after a brutal fight, still reeling from the blows his opponent Ian Nepomniachtchi had landed, wary to move in case his legs gave out under him. The pair had been dueling each other for three weeks, maintaining a mind-boggling level of concentration during