When Ding Liren competes for the world championship chess crown in Singapore over the next three weeks, the likeable Chinese player will not — like most of his predecessors — be sitting at the board as the top player.

Gukesh Dommaraju could become the youngest chess world champion in history, but those who know him best say his success wasn't preordained

The clash between chess titans Ding and Indian challenger Gukesh Dommaraju kicks off at the Resorts World Sentosa on Nov 25, with the best-of-14 series to end on Dec 13.