Liem among top 3 at Asian Chess Champs
(VOV) - Leading Vietnamese player Le Quang Liem on May 25 defeated his host opponent J. Catalino at the ongoing Asian Continental Chess Championship in the Philippines, raising hope of winning the tournament’s trophy.
Despite holding black pieces, GM Liem, who had three consecutive draws, made Juliano Catalino surrender after 32 moves in the 8th round.
The win helped the Vietnamese player jump to third place with 6.0 points, keeping alive the hope that he would be among the top 3 after the last round on May 26.
Li Chao B of China outperformed Marat Dzhumaev of Uzbekistan to stay atop the standings with 6.5 points.
In the 9th round, Liem is scheduled to play another host opponent Oliver Barbosa who now ranks second with six points.
On May 25, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, another Vietnamese player, drew with Adhiban Baskaran of India, placing him 8th with 5.5 points.
His Vietnamese teammate Van Huy overwhelmed Pimentel Joel of Uzbekistan, while other Vietnamese players Dao Thien Hai, Duc Hoa, and Tuan Minh all had draws.
In the women’s category, Thao Nguyen, who drew with No1 Mongolian Bankhuyag Munguntuul in round 7, lost to Tan Zhong-yi of China after 63 moves.
Hope becomes slim for Thao Nguyen when she will play Wang Jue of China in the last round on May 26.
Mai Hung sealed the only win for Vietnamese women’s team, but the Bac Giang-born girl will find it hard to enter the top three as she has four points in total.
Thanh An got 0.5 points in this round, and with 4.5 point she is likely to be among the top 15 of the tournament.
Thanh Tu and Nhu Y were defeated while Ba Tram had a draw with her opponent.