Grandmaster Le Quang Liem (pictured) is one of two Vietnamese players at the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament in the Isle of Man, England. — Photo baodongnai.com.vn

Liem, world No 35, and No 131 Son will play 118 other players including powerhouses such as No 1 Magnus Carlsen, No 2 Fabiano Caruana, No 8 Wesley So and No 8 Viswanathan Anand at the US$433,000 event.

Liem is placed No 19 while Son is ranked No 76 at the competition.

With the participation of the world champion Carlsen as well as players in the world top 10 as the top seeds, the event is the strongest Swiss tournament in history.

In the first round, Liem plays GM Jorden van Foreest of the Netherlands while Son faces Allen Keith of Ireland.

The tournament runs for 11 rounds until October 22 with the winner taking a slot at the 2020 Candidates' Tournament. The winner of the Candidates' Tournament will earn the right to challenge reigning champion Carlsen in a match for the world championship in November 2020.

VNS