Vietnamese representative Le Quang Liem pocketed his first win in the ongoing eighth Danzhou Super Chess Grandmaster in China.

Liem is second at the Danzhou Super Chess Grandmaster in China.

Liem defeated Vladimir Malakhov, who had the advantage of white pieces, just after 38 moves yesterday.

With 2.5 points after four matches, Liêm ranked second among 10 masters.

He will next play Arkadij Naiditsch of Azerbaijan, who is at No. 5 with two points. Naiditsch drew with Chinese Wang Hao yesterday.

Wei Yi of China remained stable at the top spot with three points. He is tied with compatriot Ding Liren in the other table. Ding is now at No. 3.

The eighth super grandmaster is being organised from July 9 to July 19 in Danzhou on the island province of Hainan.

Players compete in a single round-robin system that features five international grandmasters and top Chinese players.

The total prize money is US$60,000, with $20,000 for the first place. 

VNS