The 44-year-old chess player won the national rapid chess championship.

On the morning of April 25th, veteran chess player Tu Hoang Thong (Ho Chi Minh City) excellently won the gold medal in the men's rapid chess event at the national chess tournament held in Hue.

From Hoang Thong winning the national championship at the age of 44, photo: Bach Duong

With an Elo rating of 2394, Tu Hoang Thong ranked 19th out of 34 in terms of Elo compared to his opponents at the starting line, especially considering the tournament included Vietnam's number 2 player Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Can Tho, Elo 2634).

In the very first game, Tu Hoang Thong caused a surprise by defeating Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son. With his spirits high, Tu Hoang Thong went on to defeat two more young Vietnamese chess talents, Le Tuan Minh (Binh Duong) and Tran Minh Thang (Hanoi), in games 2 and 3. He also lost to national team player Nguyen Van Huy. With 5 wins and 4 draws, Tu Hoang Thong reached 7 points, 0.5 points ahead of second-ranked Lu Chan Hung (Kien Giang) and 1 point ahead of third-ranked Tran Tuan Minh (Hanoi).

Born in 1972, Tu Hoang Thong started playing chess in 1982 (at the age of 10), meaning he has been competing for 34 years. His impressive record includes four national championships and the record for being the youngest national champion in Vietnam (at the age of 14), a record that remains unbroken. Besides playing chess, he is also the Director of Smartchess Training School, a prestigious chess school in Ho Chi Minh City that attracts many children.

Pham Le Thao Nguyen affirms her position as the number 1 female contestant. (Photo: Bach Duong)

In the women's rapid chess event, Vietnam's number one player, Pham Le Thao Nguyen (Can Tho), maintained her consistent performance, winning the gold medal with 8 points after 9 games. Thao Nguyen had the same number of points as Vo Thi Kim Phung (Bac Giang) but ranked higher due to a better tie-breaking score.

According to Thanhnien