In round four, Quang Liem (Elo 2729) faced off against Karthik (Elo 2579). The first classical match ended in a draw. In the second leg, despite playing with the black pieces - a traditionally disadvantageous position - Quang Liem employed bold tactics to clinch a win after 68 moves.

With this result, the Vietnamese grandmaster triumphed 1.5–0.5 overall, progressing to round five of the prestigious tournament.

This marks the first time a Vietnamese male chess player has advanced to the fifth round of a FIDE World Cup. In previous appearances in 2013 and 2019, Le Quang Liem had only reached round four.

For this milestone, he was awarded a prize of 25,000 USD.

Le Quang Liem is also the only Southeast Asian player to make it to round five this year. He will next face German player Alexander Donchenko, who currently holds an Elo rating of 2641 and ranks 82nd in the world in standard chess.

The two previously met at the 2024 Biel Chess Festival in the Netherlands, where their match ended in a draw. Donchenko has shown impressive form at the 2025 World Cup, having won all four of his classical matches so far.

Their highly anticipated matchup will take place on November 14.

The 2025 FIDE World Cup features 206 male participants. Le Quang Liem earned a direct berth into the tournament by ranking among the top 20 players on FIDE’s global leaderboard.

The event boasts a total prize pool of 2 million USD, with the champion set to take home 120,000 USD.

Dai Nam