Young talent wins U10 world champs

Khoi, the world number 13,  defeated his Indian opponent Ram Aravind in the 10^th round on November 18, securing the title no matter what the result of his final round would be.

Nguyen Anh Khoi (right) at the 2012 U10 World Chess Championships (photo: worldchess)

The Vietnamese player has earned the maximum 10 points after the first ten rounds, 1.5 points more than his closest runner-up.

This year’s championships, which ran from November 7-19, attracted 1,584 players competing in the boys’ and girls’ U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, and U18 divisions.

Vietnam was represented by 12 players at the event, all of whom competed fiercely with outstanding rivals from Russia, India, Serbia, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine.

This is the sixth time Vietnam has claimed the world champion title in its competitive chess history.

*** Vietnamese Grand Master Le Quang Liem defeated Azerbaijani Eltaj Safarli (Elo 2620) in the fifth round of the ongoing 2012 Fujairah International Chess Championship in UAE.

With this result, Liem advanced seven places (from 13th to 6th⁾ on the championship ladder after five games.

Liem will meet his Chinese rival Ma Qun in the upcoming sixth round. Ma is currently placed 9th with 3.5 points.