Chess star seeks World Cup coach
Updated August, 08 2011 09:30:27
 |
Pawn king: Chess star Le Quang Liem is looking for a top foreign coach to help him at the Chess World Cup to be held in Russia's Khanty Mansiysk from August 26 to September 21. — VNS Photo Quang Thang |
HCM CITY — Vietnamese chess star Le Quang Liem is looking for a top foreign coach to help him at the Chess World Cup to be held in Russia's Khanty Mansiysk from August 26 to September 21. "I am still trying to contact some coaches but it is not easy to find a coach within a few weeks," said the World No 27, who has achieved a lot of success in the past two years and recently finished second at the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund, Germany. "It should be done at least three months before. "But I hope to find a coach soon for the event," he said. The national sports administration has given the green light for the 20-year-old's quest, and the Viet Nam Chess Federation has promised to pay US$8,000 to the coach for the tournament. Liem, who has an Elo rating of 2,715 and is seeded 20th in the 128-strong field, will take on Indonesia's 109-seeded Susanto Megaranto in the first round. In the knockout tournament, he had bowed out in the first round in both 2007 and 2009. In another match, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son will take on China's Li Chao. The Chess World Cup has attracted several top 10 players including fourth-ranked Karjakin Sergey of Russia, sixth-ranked Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine. Following the considerable progress Liem has made in recent times, his fans expect him to do well this time. "I hope I will go far in the tournament," the HCM City-based player said. — VNS
