Quang Liem won the first game in the World Cup qualifiers
The qualifying round of the World Chess Championship Zone 3.3 kicked off in Ho Chi Minh City from March 7 to March 15 with the participation of many strong players from countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Korea, and Vietnam.
This qualifying round will be played according to the Swiss system over 9 rounds. The two highest ranked male players will qualify for the 2015 World Chess Championship, scheduled to be held in Azerbaijan in early September 2015. Meanwhile, in the women's tournament, only the top player will qualify for the 2015 World Chess Cup.
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| Le Quang Liem easily won the first game in the 2015 World Cup qualifiers. |
With many strong players in the region such as So Wesley (Philippines, elo 2788), female player Irine Sukandar (Indonesia)... absent, the Vietnamese delegation has a great opportunity to win all 3 slots to attend the 2015 World Chess Cup.
Experts predict that the top two positions in the men's tournament will be a competition between Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam with strong players such as Zhang Zhong (of Chinese origin), Sadorra Catalino, and John Paul (Philippines).
On the morning of March 7, Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son played the first game of the tournament. Number 1 seed Le Quang Liem (elo 2676) only faced Liu Xiangyi (Singapore, elo 2380). Meanwhile, number 2 seed Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son played against Bersamina Paulo (Philippines, elo 2359).
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| Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son was unfortunately held to a draw by the Philippine player. |
Despite being at a slight disadvantage holding the black pieces (going later), Le Quang Liem still easily defeated Liu Xiangyi after 33 moves. Meanwhile, holding the white pieces (going first), Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son was held to a draw by Bersamina Paulo after 49 moves.
The first day of competition also witnessed some notable results such as Dao Thien Hai being defeated by Tran Manh Tien, Nguyen Canh Huan drawing with Zhang Zhong (seed number 3, Singapore), Nguyen Anh Dung winning against Nguyen Anh Khoi...
In the women's category, strong Vietnamese players such as Pham Le Thao Nguyen and Hoang Thi Bao Tram also had a favorable start when they won against players from the Philippines.
The second round of the 2015 World Chess Championship qualifying round, Zone 3.3, will take place at 9:30 a.m. on March 8. According to the draw results for the second round, Le Quang Liem will compete with Bitoon Richard (Philippines, elo 2422), while Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son will meet Nay Kyaw Tun (Myanmar, elo 2292).
According to Discovery
