He defeated Chinese Xiu Deshun in the seventh game on September 23.

With the win, Liem received 6.5 points and temporarily led the event.

The HCM City-born player, the event’s top seed among 56 players from five countries, with an Elo rating of 2602, made a good start and defeated talented rivals such as International Master Lu Shanglei (Elo 2303), Wu Xibin (Elo 2346) and Grand Master Wang Rui (Elo 2435).

The nine-round Swiss has a prize fund of US$30,000 and is the first international open in China in the past seven years. The organizers have confirmed that this will be an annual event with cash-prizes increasing every year.

Liem will be the only Vietnamese representative in the World Chess Championship’s final round next November. Last month, he ranked four in the Kolkata Open, India.