Aeroflot champ Liem wants to be No 1

Le Quang Liem (C) is gifted with teddy bears and flowers by fans on his return to Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on February 21, 2010

Grandmaster Le Quang Liem of Vietnam, who defended his championship title at the 2011 Aeroflot Open last week in Russia, returned home to a warm welcome at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City Monday.

The 20-year-old player had an interview with local media.

What are your targets this year?

They are to take part in some elite chess tournaments including the Dortmund Sparkassen event in Germany in July, World Cup in Russia in August, and the 26th SEA Games in Indonesia in November.

In addition, I will also join some other international tournaments wearing the jerseys of Germany’s Bremen chess club in March, France’s Every Grand Roque in April and China’s Qingdao Yucai in June.

I target to lift up my Elo ratings to 2,700 this year. [Now, his is 2,689.]

And other long-term targets?

It is to take my Elo ratings to the world’s top 30 and 20 and the number one in the world.

I have another task of completing my university program. I am now a freshman of finance and banking at the Saigon University.

Is it a trouble to follow at the same time two targets?

I take all my free time from chess competition for my banking studies. It’s difficult but I will improve.

What kind of support do you need from local and central sports departments to improve your world rankings?

I’ve met difficulties in legal documents to travel abroad for competition. I wish to have an official passport [granted to government officials on overseas missions], instead of ordinary passport to facilitate my travel.

For example, while competing at the Tata Steel chess tournament held last month in the Netherlands, coach Lam Minh Chau and I had to travel far away to another city for our visas to enter Russia as the Russian Embassy in Vietnam was on holiday for the Lunar New Year festival.

It would not cost that much time with an official passport.

How is your chess training now?

I mainly learn chess by competing with rivals on the Internet as no coach or expert in Vietnam is qualified to train a grandmaster.

What do you plan to do on your birthday on March 13?

As previous years, I celebrate it with my family and friends.

The Vietnamese government has given financial support to Liem for overseas competition. As for international open tournaments, Ho Chi Minh City Sports Department is in charge of covering costs for his competition trips. Other events like the Olympic Games, Asian Games and Sea Games, Vietnam Chess Federation will cover his expenses.

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Top mark for fair play at chess's Aeroflot Open

Le Quang Liem (R) plays against Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan in the last round. They finally set for a tie

Vietnamese grandmaster Le Quang Liem, 20 and with Elo rating of 2,664, writes his name in the 10-year history of Russia’s Aeroflot Open chess tourney as the first player in the world for crowning the title twice in two consecutive years.

His victory this year came from his talent, of course, and the spirit of sportsmanship of other rivals, according to Liem’s coach, Lam Minh Chau.

Liem and Bulgarian grandmaster Ivan Cheparinov each had 6 points before the last round taking place, but Liem could only manage his best for a tie with GM Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan.

That means Cheparinov would be declared champion if he defeated Russian Nikita Vitiugov in their last game. That even didn’t happen thanks to the sporting spirit of all participants, especially from Vitiugov, who defeated Cheparinov in the last round to stamp out his hope.

Not waiting till the last round, the fair play spirit was actually honored right from the opening round, the coach remarked.

The coach added that Liem’s biggest progress at the tournament was his growing confidence. He showed no fright while staging against high-profile champions of the world and even challenged those rivals with attacks from the beginning.

In the second game against Chinese Deshun Xiu, Liem produced his far-thinking strategy by sacrificing his pawns. Experts later acknowledged his moves outsmarted his rival, forcing him to surrender.

Facing the world blitz chess champion Gata Kamsky of the US in the fourth round, Liem actively staged his attacking formation and sacrificed pawns to assault others. It stunned the wise Kamsky who was later forced to accept a loss.

Liem kept on the attacking tactics to pile up pressure against Ivan Cheparinov in the penultimate round, but he failed this time and it was his only loss at the tournament.

Liem applies the ancient proverb “it’s more difficult to defend than to attack”, and staged assaults after assaults tactically to defend his title and set up a historic record at Aeroflot Open.

Liem will automatically qualify for the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meet in Germany, which is the playing ground of only super grandmasters, meaning those with Elo rating from 2,700.

Liem and other participants are commendable for their sporting spirits at the event.

 

Liem (second, L) addresses the audience after crowning the championship title at the 2011 Aeroflot Open held in Russia from February 7-17

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GM Liem retains Aeroflot crown

Mind games: Vietnamese International Grand Master Le Quang Liem won the Russian International Chess Festival Aeroflot Open in Moscow for the second time in a row. — VNA/VNS Photo Quoc Khanh

HA NOI — Despite a spectacular loss against Ivan Cheparinov of Bulgaria in the penultimate round on Wednesday, Vietnamese Grandmaster (GM) Le Quang Liem won the Russian International Chess Festival Aeroflot Open in Moscow for the second time in a row.

HCM City-born Liem came back strongly with a solid draw against Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan in the final round.

The Vietnamese GM was among 130 candidates with highest FIDE ratings competing in the tournament for a prize of 20,000 euros (US$29,300). Liem finished with 6.5 points following four wins, three draws and one loss.

GMs Nikita Vitiugov and Evgeny Tomashevsky of Russia finished runners-up after winning their final matches against Ivan Cheparinov of Bulgaria and Sanan Sjugirov of Russia, respectively.

The victory means world No 79 Liem qualifies for the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund, Germany, this summer, where he finished second last year behind Ruslan Ponomariov.

Group B was won by GM Tigran Kotanjian from Armenia, who edged out GM Darwin Laylo of the Philippines and GM Nikolai Kabanov of Russia on a tiebreak. Armenia experienced more success in the Group C with David Shahinyan and Tigran Simonian making it a one-two for the Balkans nation.

Liem, 20, also won the 4th Kolkata Open Grandmaster Tournament in 2009, the Zhejiang Lishui Xingqiu Open, and finished equal third in the 8th Asian Continental Individual Open Championship.

In February last year, Liem tied for first in the Aeroflot Open with Konstantin Chernyshov, Evegny Bareev and Ernesto Inarkiev. — VNS

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Le Quang Liem retains Aeroflot title

HA NOI – Despite a spectacular loss against Ivan Cheparinov of Bulgaria in the penultimate round yesterday evening, Vietnamese Grandmaster (GM) Le Quang Liem won the Russian International Chess Festival Aeroflot Open in Moscow for the second time in a row.

Later yesterday evening, HCM City-born Liem came back strongly with a solid draw against Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan in the final round.

The Vietnamese GM was among 130 candidates with highest FIDE ratings competing in the A tournament for a prize of 20,000 euros (US$29,300). Liem finished with 6.5 points following four wins, three draws and one loss.

GMs Nikita Vitiugov and Evgeny Tomashevsky of Russia finished runners-up after winning their final matches against Ivan Cheparinov of Bulgaria and Sanan Sjugirov of Russia, respectively.

The victory means world No 79 Liem qualifies for the Super Tournament in Dortmund later this summer, where he finished second last year behind Ruslan Ponomariov.

The B tournament was won by GM Tigran Kotanjian from Armenia, who edged out GM Darwin Laylo of the Philippines and GM Nikolai Kabanov of Russia on a tiebreak. Armenia experienced more success in the C tournament with David Shahinyan and Tigran Simonian making it a one-two for the Balkans nation.

Liem also won the 4th Kolkata Open Grandmaster Tournament in 2009, the Zhejiang Lishui Xingqiu Open, and finished equal third in the 8th Asian Continental Individual Open Championship.

In February last year, Liem tied for first in the Aeroflot Open with Konstantin Chernyshov, Evegny Bareev and Ernesto Inarkiev. – VNS

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Liem in lead at Aeroflot Open

Making his move: Vietnamese chess player Le Quang Liem competes at the Aeroflot Open International Chess tournament. — VNA/VNS Photo Quang Nhut

HA NOI — International Grandmaster Le Quang Liem took the sole lead at the Russian International Chess Festival (Aeroflot Open) after seventh round play yesterday in Moscow.

Liem has scored six points after seven matches and has remained in the top position in the tournament since the third round on Friday.

The defending champion, Liem, defeated Russian Mikhail Kobalia, 32, who was European Youth Chess Champion in 1994. The victory made Liem the only competitor here not to suffer a loss in the tournament, which follows the Swiss system's nine-round format.

His two draws were against Evgeny Tomashevsky of Russia and Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan. Tomashevsky triumphed at the 10th European Championships in 2009 while Kasimdzhanov shocked the chess world by winning the FIDE world chess championship title, beating a string of world-class players.

In their previous match, Liem drew with Kasimdzhanov and lost his Asian Games title to the Uzbek last December.

The HCM City-born Liem will next meet Ivan Cheparinov of Bulgaria who has earned five points and is among seven players on five points, very close to Liem in the ranking table.

The winner of the tournament will bring home 20,000 euros (US$29,300) and get the chance to participate in a round-robin super tournament in Dortmund, Germany, in late July. The final match is this Friday. — VNS

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Quang Liem leads Aeroflot Open chess tournament

Grandmaster Le Quang Liem

Vietnamese grandmaster Le Quang Liem, 20, made excellent performances at the international elite chess tournament Aeroflot Open 2011 in Russia for gaining complete victories at four opening rounds.

Remarkably, the defending champion Liem with Elo rating of 2,664 beat the number 1 seed and world blitz chess champion, Gata Kamsky of the US at the fourth round on Friday.

He had beaten GM Luka Lenic of Slovenia, Deshun Xiu of China, and GM Andrey Zhigalko of Belarus in the three first rounds.

Liem is now the solo leader on the table with four points and is scheduled to meet GM Evgeny Tomashevsky of Russia in the fifth round today. He is followed by two Russian grandmasters Mikhail Kobalia and Evgeny Tomashevsky, each with 3.5 points after four rounds.

The Aeroflot Open 2011 is organized in Moscow from February 7 – 18. This year, it is open to chess players of most varied qualification, from unrated to having a very high rating and separated in A, B, and C categories.

The festival has the prize fund amounting to EUR160,000 (US$217,000).

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Quang Liem leads Aeroflot event

Vietnamese International Grand Master (IGM) Le Quang Liem took the lead at the Russian International Chess Festival Aeroflot Open in Moscow after defeating China's Xiu Deshun in the second round on Thursday.

Taking two points from two rounds, Liem will meet IGM Slovakia's Luka Lenic in the third round.

Competitors have varying levels of skills and are taking part in three open tournaments, each of which is a nine-round Swiss system event.

Liem is among 130 candidates in Tournament A, the highest level, competing for a cash prize of 20,000 euros (US$29,300) for the title winner who also will be entitled to participate in a round-robin Super Tournament in Dortmund in the second half of July.

There will also be prizes for the best performance among seniors, women and juniors in all tournaments and a prize for the best result by an unrated player in Tournament C.

Ngoc Tu to compete for Gia Lai

Soc Trang's judoka Van Ngoc Tu is completing the necessary procedures to play for Gia Lai, after signing a VND10 million (US$500) a month contract.

Tu is nearly unrivalled at Southeast Asian (SEA) region following the 23rd SEA Games.

The four-time SEA champion officially ended her contract with Soc Trang provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism last December.

City to spend $350,000 on youth

HCM City will spend VND7 billion (US$350,000) to train young players this year, mainly in training and competing abroad.

Young talents will also be given top priority, with 16-year-old tennis player Nguyen Hoang Thien, who is competing at the 2011 Tennis Central 18&U ITF Summer Championships in New Zealand, set to receive $30,000.

Thien was ranked 241st in the world according to the latest world ranking table by the International Tennis Federation.

Woman striker hangs up her boots

Do Thi Ngoc Cham, the national women's football team's star striker, has announced her retirement from the sport at just 26 to pursue a coaching career.

Cham, who recently signed on as assistant coach of Ha Noi team, had helped the team win a gold medal at the National Games last December.

Winner of the Golden Ball in 2008, she was the main striker for the national and Ha Noi teams in recent years.

Ha Noi-born Cham began to play competitive football in 1999 when she joined the Soc Son District Sports Centre.

She began to play for Ha Noi in 2001 and a year later was named in the national team for the Asian Games. — VNS

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Vietnam chess star eyes foreign clubs

Le Quang Liem (L) wins Andrey Zhigalko from Belarus at teh opening round of the 2011 Aeroflot Open Tournament in Russia

Vietnamese grandmaster Le Quang Liem is likely to play for foreign teams to compete at international tournaments in the next few months.

Liem said that if nothing changes, he will join overseas clubs namely Bremen of Germany, Evry Grand Roque (France) and Qingdao Yucai (China), to compete in the French Chess League-Top 16 and the China Team Chess League Division A.

The 20-year-old along with his coach Minh Chau flied to Moscow on Tuesday to participate in the 2011 Aeroflot Open Tournament taking place on February 8-17.

He won the Aeroflot Open Tournament in 2010 and was awarded a cash prize of EUR20,000 (US$27,300).

Liem recently attended the Tata Steel Tournament held in the Netherlands, securing fourth place and receiving a cash award of EUR3,000 ($4,100).

This year, Liem will also take part in the World Chess Championships in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia from August 20 to September 15 and the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia in November.

He currently ranks 79th in the world with an ELO rating of 2,664, and sets a target to enter the world’s top 40 with an ELO rating of over 2,700 this year.

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Master defends crown

Making his move: Vietnamese chess master Le Quang Liem on his way to winning his first match at the Aeroflot Open tournament in Moscow. — VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI – Le Quang Liem is on track to defend his title at the Russian International Chess Festival Aeroflot Open in Moscow.

Liem won his first round match over Andrey Zhigalko of Bulgaria on Tuesday and will meet Chinese Xiu Deshun who beat Romain Edouard of France next round.

Liem's strongest rivals include six international super grandmasters and eight international grandmasters, including Gata Kamsky of the US, Sergei Movsesian of Armnia, Dmitry Jakovenko of Russia and Maxime Vachier Lagrave of France.

Competitors range from unrated to highly rated taking part in three open tournaments, each of which is a nine-round Swiss event.

Liem is among 130 candidates in tournament A, the highest level, competing for a bonus of 20,000 euros (US$29,300) for the title winner who also will be entitled to participate in a round-robin Super Tournament in Dortmund in the second half of July.

There will also be prizes for the best performance among seniors, women and juniors in all tournaments and a prize for the best result by an unrated player in tournament C.

The festival will conclude on February 17

Liem has recently announced that he will be competing for three foreign teams this year.

Liem is the world No 79 will represent Germany's Bremen at the German Clubs Cup, Evry Grand Roque at the French Chess League Top 16 and Chinese Qingdao Yucai at China's Chess League Division A in March, April and June, respectively.

The HCM City-born master is first ever Vietnamese chess master to play for foreign clubs.

Liem will later take part in the World Chess Championships in Khanty Mansiysk in Russia from August 20 to September 15 and the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia in November.

Liem whose ELO rating of 2,664 is aiming to break into the top 40 with an ELO rating of over 2,700 in 2011. — VNS

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Grandmaster wins silver in Asian Games chess debut

Checkmate: IGM Le Quang Liem wins a silver in the men's individual event for Viet Nam in Guangzhou. — VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI — International grand master Le Quang Liem won a silver medal of the Asian Games' men's individual yesterday in Guangzhou.

Liem pocketed 7.5 points after nine games, level with eventual gold-medal winner Kasimdzhanov Rustam of Uzbekistan. Liem lost out as he had been defeated by Rustam in their match on Monday.

It is the first time chess is an official sport of ASIAD.

Wushu martial artist Nguyen Thanh Tung bagged a silver - the third for at the Games yesterday.

Tung scored 18.32 points with a combined performance of taijijan and taijiquan, finishing second behind his powerful Chinese rival.

Tung said he couldn't believe he had actually won the silver until he was standing on the podium.

"It is the first time I have taken part in such a big tournament," said Tung.

"As a freshman here, I am not thinking of winning a medal. I told myself that it is not a competition but a performance and all the other people are spectators who are admiring it."

Head coach Nguyen Phuong Lan said the silver medal was a big surprise, as he was only 18 years old and defeated much more experienced rivals.

"But in taolu (performance), athletes' nerves are very important," said the coach. "Tung is inexperienced but he can deal with pressure. He feels free to perform and he succeeds."

Vietnamese wushu sanshou athletes are expected to win a gold medal today as three have booked berths in the final matches.

Nguyen Thi Bich who defeated Iran's Mansoryansamiroumi Elaheh 9-1 in the women's 52kg category yesterday will fight against host E Meidie.

Her male teammates Phan Van Hau will compete China's Li Xinjie in the 56kg class while Nguyen Van Tuan will play Zhang Junyong, another Chinese, in the 65kg pool.

The nine-man Viet Nam Olympic football team, that qualified for the second round in their first appearance at the Asian Games, lost to a powerful North Korea 2-0 in the knock-out round at Yuexiu Stadium.

Later, Viet Nam's women footballers lost to China 0-1 in the last minutes during the premilinary round.

It was the second defeat for the Southeast Asian Games champions, who are set to play Jordan in the last group round match tomorrow. — VNS

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Quang Liem jumps to 41st place in FIDE ranking

Le Quang Liem

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Vietnamese chess ace, grandmaster Le Quang Liem has made yet one more stride in his chess career as he jumped to the 41st spot on the September ranking of the world chess federation (FIDE) -- his highest ever placement.

The 19-year-old player, now with Elo ratings of 2,694, climbed up from 55th in the July ranking table after winning a silver medal at the category-20 Sparkassen Chess-Meeting tournament in Dortmund, Germany in late July.

In February this year, he had jumped to the 42nd place after winning the Aeroflot Open title in Moscow, but then slipped back down to 55th.

At the nine-day Frorencio Campomanes Memorial Cup in the Philippines that wrapped up Saturday, Liem and Zhao Jun of China shared the top prize each grabbing 7 points after nine rounds.

Each of them also won a cash prize of US$9,500 for the championship title.

“My target now is to reach the top 30 on FIDE rankings, meaning I need to earn an Elo ratings of at least 2,710,” Liem told Tuoi Tre.

“I will join the Vietnamese national team to compete at the (World Chess) Olympiad in Russia (from September 23 to October 4) and take part in the Asian Olympic Games in China in November,” he added.

Five top players on the September FIDE rankings include Magnus Carlsen of Norway with Elo ratings of 2,826; Bulgaria’s Veseling Topalov (2,803); India’s Viswanathang Anand (2,800); Armenia’s Levong Aronian (2,783); and Russia’s Vladimir Kramnik (2,780).

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Young stars raise profile of Vietnam chess

Vietnamese chess star Le Quang Liem

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Vietnamese chess has won international esteem following recent victories by its players at world-class tournaments.

Le Quang Liem, 19, became the first Southeast Asian to win the Aeroflot Open in Moscow earlier this year, widely regarded as the world's most difficult open chess event.

As a result, the world no. 55 qualified for the category-20 Sparkassen Chess-Meeting tournament in Dortmund, Germany, where he finished second behind Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine.

Truong Son, ranked 157th in the world, tied for third place at the Aeroflot Open and finished first along with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France and Fabiano Caruana of Italy in the top section of the Biel International Chess Festival in Switzerland that included many of the world’s best young players.

Last December the Vietnamese women's chess team won the Asian championship while the men's team placed second. In 2008 seven-year-old Tran Minh Thang became the world under-8 champion.

The chairman of the Vietnam Chess Federation, Dang Tat Thang, said the government spends US$3 million a year to promote the game which includes players' travel expenses to domestic and international events.

This is less than a quarter of the investment made in football, the nation’s favorite sport.

But football and other popular sports like volleyball and tennis have never brought glory to Vietnam even at the Asian level.

Between 500 and 700 young players around the country train for chess, getting a monthly stipend of $300 plus room and board, according to the Ukrainian-born coach of the national team, Mikhail Vasyliev.

While investment in and rewards from a sport clearly make a difference, many hope that chess will become more popular in Vietnam since it is one sport where Vietnamese are doing well.

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