Vietnamese players win AIMAG rapid chess event

 Vietnamese chess players Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son won another gold medal at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) in Turkmenistan on September 26.

They beat their Chinese opponents 1.5-0.5 in the men’s team rapid chess event.

Grandmaster (GM) Liem defeated Wang Yue, while GM Son tied with Li Chao.

Earlier in the semi-finals, the Vietnamese players beat hosts Turkmensitan 2-1.

Vietnamese chess players Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (R) shake hands with their Chinese rivals (Photo: VNA)

In the first two matches, Liem and Son drew with Meilis Annaberdiev and Saparmyrat Atabayev respectively. In the decisive game, Liem bested Annaberdiev to take Vietnam to the final.

Fifteen teams participated in the rapid chess event. They competed in over five rounds to get to the semifinals. At the end of five rounds, Vietnam were ranked third, entering the semifinals alongside China, Turkmenistan and Qatar.

On the women’s side, Pham Le Thao Nguyen and Nguyen Thi Thanh An bagged a bronze medal after losing to Chinese rivals in their semifinal match.

Vietnam have thus far won two gold medals in chess. On September 31, Liem won a gold in the men’s individual standard category.

“This is a special day for me as it is the first time that I have won two gold medals in one event,” Liem said.

“I am always confident when playing with Liem. Our coordination and teamwork is perfect,” said Son.

Liem, who began playing chess at the age of seven, has won several prestigious prizes, including the blitz championship title at the 2013 World Blitz and the Rapid Chess championships. He also won the overall championship title at the HDBank International Open Chess Tournaments in 2013, 2015 and 2017.

With Liem contesting, Vietnam are expected to win one more gold medal in the men’s team’s blitz chess division.

With 12 gold, seven silver and 19 bronze medals, Vietnam rank eighth in the AIMAG medal tally.

(Source: VNA)