Le Quang Liem of Vietnam competes at the International Mind Sports Association World Masters Championship which is taking place in Hengshui, China. — Photo hengshui2019.fide.com

Liem has grabbed five points after eight matches. He is behind No 4 seed Anton Korobov of Ukraine on 6.5 points.

Liem will next play Gawain Jones of England in the next round. Jones is currently 12th with 3.5 points.

The World Masters Championship will continue till May 18 with competitions in bridge, chess, draughts, Go, and Xiangqi (Chinese chess).

In chess 16 players compete in separate open and women's sections in rapid and blitz chess.
The winning master will walk away with US$18,000.

Liem is the only Vietnamese competitor in the chess event.

VNS