Vietnamese master defends crown

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
Feb. 8 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 (29,300 USD) 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./.

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Vietnam War through foreign journalists’ eyes

About 50 photos on the war in Vietnam taken by the late
photo-journalist Henri Huet and his colleagues are on display at an
exhibition that is opening in France from Feb.9 till April.10.

The event is being held to mark the 40 th ‑ death anniversary of the
well-known photographer, who lost his life when the military helicopter
he was riding in was shot down over Laos .

The
collection captures different aspects in the war from the pain, fatigue,
frustration and grittiness to a gamut of emotions.

Highlight of the display is a photo named Thomas Cole, which was used as
a cover of LIFE magazine, depicting a young medic of the First Cavalry
division, tending other soldiers despite his own injuries.

Sharon, a visitor, said she felt that she was witnessing what happened
dozens of years ago when viewing the photos and was impressed with
images of American soldiers’ daily life as well as what Vietnamese
people had to suffer from.

Henri Huet, who was a
half-French and half-Vietnamese, worked for the United Press
International (UPI) and then transferred to the Associated Press (AP)
during his 20-year career./.

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Park Ji-sung to play in Viet Nam

HA NOI – South Korean football star Park Ji-sung is planning to play in a charity match in Viet Nam.

Park, who plays for Manchester United, will line up alongside fellow teammates Patrice Evra and Edwin Van de Sar along with former Juventus hitman Pavel Nedved and Manchester City's Carlos Tevez.

The match, which is scheduled for June 15, has received support from the Viet Nam Football Federation who also said they were making detailed plans in preparation for the event.

Park's agent company is looking into a suitable venue for the game and money raised through ticket sales will be given to the VFF to develop the nation's junior football movement.

Park, who played a key role in South Korea's World Cup 2010 campaign, also introduced his JS Foundation that focuses on charitable activities in Southeast Asia on Wednesday.

Park said goodbye to the national team in January after winning his 100th cap in a match against Japan during the Asian Cup.

Park has played in three World Cups, scoring in each tournament, and is one of the greatest Asian players ever to put on a football shirt. – 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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Park Ji Sung to tour Vietnam for charity

Park Ji Sung

South Korea football star Park Ji Sung is scheduled to participate in a charity football tournament held in Vietnam in June, the Chosun Ilbo news agency announced yesterday.

The charity program called the Asian Dream Cup will also draw participation of other well-known footballers like Lee Chung Yong of Bolton Wanderers, Ki Sung Yueng of Glasgow Celtics, Park's Manchester United teammate Patrice Evra of France, and retired Japanese star Hidetoshi Nakata.

South Korea’s former captain Park Ji Sung is moving on to the next stage in his career as the founder of a charitable JS Foundation.

"This will be a new starting point and the final destination in my football career," said Park, who retired from the national team last month. “I want to do something meaningful through football to share with the world."

Among the charity event's sponsors are notable sport figures like Choo Shin Soo of the Cleveland Indians, Olympic weightlifting champion Jang Mi Ran, and Hur Jae, head coach of KCC Egis in Korea’s professional basketball league, as well as entertainment celebrities including actor Jung Jun Ho and singer Kim Heung Gook.

"We want to promote football in Southeast Asia through various projects in cooperation with football associations there,” said Park, who is the foundation's executive director.

The paper also announced that Vietnam was chosen as the venue for the foundation's first project thanks to active support from the country's football association as well as the high popularity of Manchester United and Park there.

His father Park Sung Jong along with some members of the foundation paid a five-day visit to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and worked with Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) last December.

“VFF has contacted JS Foundation and promised to create best conditions for the success of the upcoming charity football tournament,” said VFF’s General Secretary Tran Quoc Tuan.

“I do hope that Vietnamese spectators will have a chance to witness great performance by renowned footballers like Park Ji Sung.”

Meanwhile, Tran Dinh Huan, director of Thong Nhat Sports Center in HCMC, told Tuoi Tre that according to the JS foundation, Thong Nhat Stadium is less modern than Hanoi’s My Dinh National Stadium and its capacity is not as large as My Dinh’s.

However, “When we said that a large number of South Koreans live and work in HCMC, the foundation’s members find it a big advantage [to play in HCMC],” he added.

 

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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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Women prepare for Olympic qualifiers

HCM CITY — Viet Nam's women's football team will start its FIFA Women's Olympic Football Tournament 2012 qualifying campaign next month.

The Asian qualifiers that start in March have three phrases until September to determine the two teams that will represent Asia.

Viet Nam is in group A of the draw, which comprises Thailand, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Myanmar.

Group A and seven other teams – India, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Iran, Palestine and Jordan – from groups B and C will take part in the inaugural phase of qualification that kicks off on March 8 and winds up on March 27.

Group A will play their matches in Chinese Taipei (Kaohsiung City) while Bangladesh (Dhaka) will host the Group B games. Jordan (Zerqa City) will play host to Group C.

The top two teams from Groups A and C and the winners of Group B (five teams) will advance to the second round of qualifiers, which is a one-round league format and takes place from June 3-12.

The winners of this qualification round will join Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Australia for the final qualification round that will take place from September 1-11. The six teams will play a one-round league format. The top two teams in the final round of qualifiers will represent Asia at the 2012 London Olympics.

Hosts for the second qualification round will come from among the participating teams while the final qualification round hosts will be decided between Australia North Korea, South Korea, Japan, and one potential participating member association. — VNS

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