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
