609. Dünya Kupası XL

Liem draws second leg match  

 

Updated September, 05 2011 09:18:05

   

   

HCM CITY — Vietnamese chess ace Le Quang Liem drew with Cuba's solid Bruzon Batista Lazaro in the second leg of their third round match at the World Chess Cup championship in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia yesterday GM Liem, ranked 25th in the world, had qualified without going through any tiebreak, unlike many other players. So he had a day of rest and started with white in the match against Batista, ranked 62nd in the world with an Elo of 2,682. After 34 moves, two players agreed to a draw in the first leg match on Saturday. According to chessdom.com, Batista played a good match, finding a minimal counterplay to block white's efforts. Liem played only for two results and achieved plan minimum, which is also not a bad result. Liem becomes one of three Asian players playing in the third round of 32 participants with Indian Gupta Abhijeet and Chinese Bu Xiangzhi. Meanwhile, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Viet Nam went out of the tournament after putting on a fighting display against the much higher ranked Peter Svidler. After drawing both their second round matches, Son held Svidler to a draw in two 30-minute rapid games, but lost 2-0 in two 10-minute games. The US$1.6 million World Chess Cup championship has this year attracted the participation of 128 players from 46 nations. — VNS

537. Dünya Kupası VI

Liem gets off to winning start


Updated August, 30 2011 08:40:00

HA NOI — Viet Nam's top chess player, Le Quang Liem, won his first match at the World Chess Cup 2011 in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, on Sunday. Liem, who has an Elo rating of 2,715, defeated Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia, who has an Elo rating of 2,544, in just 58 moves. Meanwhile, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, (Elo 2,637) drew with China's Li Chao B (Elo 2,669). No 1 seed Sergey Karjakin of Russia beat bottom-ranked player Meidi Kaabi of Turmenistan Tunisia. In other games, No 4 seed Ponomariov of Ukraine crushed 125th-ranked Robert Gwaze of Zimbabwe; while Hungary's JUdit Polgar, seeded 33, defeated Fidel Corrales Jimenez of Cuba, seeded 99. Alexander Ivanov, from the US, who has an Elo rating of 2,538 and is seeded 117, got a bye through to the next round when Hao Wang (Elo 2,718), the 17th seed from China, withdrew at the last minute. Similarly, India's Parimarjan Negi, seeded 71, got a bye to the next round when No 58 seed Vladimir Akopian of Armenia withdrew. — VNS   

Your move: Le Quang Liem (right) wins his first match at the World Chess Cup 2011 in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia. — VNS Photo courtesy Le Quang Liem

With few corrections. HT

371. Dünya Kupası III

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