Described as a highly technical, consistent and solid player he has a preference for the endgame where he seeks to slowly grind down his opponents with a slight advantage. In February 2009 after Corus finished, Teimour Radjabov was quoted in an interview saying, "[Wang Yue] does not allow his opponents to develop counterplay and he exerts "strangulation" style very effectively." Wang has said his childhood idol was José Raúl Capablanca, and once stated that Kramnik has had an influence on his style of play, having been impressed as a 13-year-old boy with Kramnik's victory over Kasparov in the London 2000 WCC match. Wang has been given the nickname "Panda" by chess columnist Mig Greengard.