17th World Champion Ding Liren spoke about his team Dragon Chilling’s preparation for the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Championships 2026. Ding says the team members know each other well, explains how they prepared a lot, and notes his special team T-shirt.

Ding Liren

Ding Liren

17th World Champion

“You may see that the other team members’ shirts say ‘Dragon Chilling’, but mine is special. ‘Ding Chilling’ is just for me.

We trained together before this tournament. We played a lot of Rapid and Blitz games to warm up. We are very familiar with each other and have played together as a team many times before. So, I think our team spirit can bring us some success!”

The 2026 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Championships takes place from June 17 to 21, in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Dragon Chilling team holds 1st place after the first 4 rounds of the Rapid tournament. The team includes Wei Yi, Yu Yangyi, Ju Wenjun, and others.

Credit: Michal Walusza / FIDE