National chess championship 2011 opens in Dong Thap

The National chess championship 2011 opened on August 27 at the My Tra tourism area, Cao Lanh city, in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap.

The event has drawn the participation of 37 strong chess players from Hanoi, HCM City, Ben Tre, Can Tho, Kien Giang, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Ninh, Binh Dinh, Lam Dong, the Military and the host, Dong Thap.

In addition to defending champion Minh Huy, International Super Grandmasters Nguyen Anh Dung (from Quang Ninh) and Cao Sang (from Lam Dong) are also competing in the tournament.

Hanoi’s team, with Grandmaster Nguyen Van Huy and FIDE Master Tran Tuan Minh, promises to bring drama to the competition.

Some famous names such as Le Quang Liem, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, Dao Thien Hai and Tu Hoang Thong are absent from the event as they are currently busy with foreign tournaments and other work.

The championship will continue until September 1.  

VN origin player for French side
 
A rugby player of Vietnamese descent, Francois Trinh-Duc, who plays for Montpellier in France's top division of rugby, will be playing in the French Top 14 this season.

He will be the first ever Vietnamese rugby player on the French national side who has been called up for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

The 25-year-old's paternal grandfather, Trinh Duc Nhien, was born in Viet Nam and later married an Italian woman.

The popular French international plays for last season's runner-up, Montperllier, and will be keen to amend the 15-10 final loss and advance the club one step further this season.

The competition which gathers the best 14 rugby clubs in France will be broadcast live on Eurosport in Asia-Pacific this weekend.

Viet Nam jump 15 football spots

Viet Nam's national men's football team has jumped 15 places from 144th to 129th in the August rankings, FIFA has announced.

Viet Nam rose up the table after beating Qatar 2-1 at the Ha Noi-based My Dinh National Stadium in the second qualifying round of the World Cup Asian region.

Viet Nam (18th) are now in the top 20 Asian teams for the first time since 2009. In the Southeast Asia region, Viet Nam rank second, tied with Singapore and trailing Thailand (120th in the world).

On the women's side, Viet Nam are 32nd, seventh in the Asia region and second in Southeast Asia behind Thailand.

Grandmasters off to Kuala Lumpur

Two Vietnamese Grandmasters will participate in the fourth Kuala Lumpur International Open Chess Championship on September 4-10.

They are Nguyen Anh Dung and Nguyen Van Huy, who will compete for the Raja Nazrin Shah Challenge Trophy.

This year's event features an Invitational Masters round robin tournament where four veteran grandmasters, from the Philippines, Viet Nam, Uzbekistan and Singapore, will compete with six young players.

The tournament will be played in nine rounds using the federation's Swiss System.

U19 Vietnam defeats Cambodia

The U19 Vietnam national team beat Cambodia with a score of 3-0 in the second friendly match at Hanoi's My Dinh National Stadium on August 26.

The friendly matches aim to prepare for the AFF U19 Youth Championship that will take place from September 10-20.

After this tournament, the Vietnamese team will fly back to HCM City to get ready for the qualifying round of the AFC U19 Championship 2012 being held from October 31 to November 8.

Vietnamese gymnast seek to shine at Games qualifier

Vietnam's top five gymnasts are set to compete at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo on October 7-16, announced the Vietnam Gymnastics Federation.

The event, which is also an Olympic qualifier, will draw athletes from 89 countries and territories, who will be challenging for a place at the London Games.

Phan Thi Ha Thanh and Pham Phuoc Hung will lead the team next month as they attempt to qualify for the Olympic Games.

They will be accompanied by Nguyen Ha Thanh and Hoang Cuong in the men's events and Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen in the women's disciplines.

Hung, 23, will play a key role for Vietnam at the event, where he hopes to excel on the parallel bars.

At the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Portugal, the Hanoian athlete finished fourth in the men's individual parallel bars, which was the best ever result by a Vietnamese gymnast at a top International Gymnastics Federation event since the country made its debut at the Moscow Olympics in 1980.

Another hope for Vietnam is talented female gymnast Phan Thi Ha Thanh, who pocketed a silver medal in the women's individual vault event in Portugal two years ago.

Lan said that athletes from the top eight teams would be eligible for the London Games, while each team ranking from 9th to 16th in the Tokyo qualifiers would be able to send two athletes.

Liverpool to open football academy in Vietnam

Liverpool, a famous English football club, will set up football training establishments around the globe in the next three years, with priority given to some Asian countries including India, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The statement was made by Steve Turner, head of the Liverpool FC International Football Academy at a press conference in New Delhi.

The Vietnam Football Federation General Secretary, Tran Quoc Tuan, said Vietnam welcomes Liverpool’s training project in Vietnam.

Earlier, Liverpool had worked with Vietnam’s Hanoi T&T Football Club on the issue.

Vietnamese shooters to defend title at 35th SEASA tourney

The Vietnam Shooting Federation will field a 30-member squad at the upcoming 35th Southeast Asian Shooting Association tournament (SEASA), which will take place in Vientiane, Laos from September 3-12.

With the aim of defending their title, the team will include the nation’s leading shooters such as Dang Hong Ha, Cu Thi Thanh Tu, Ha Minh Thanh, Hoang Xuan Vinh and Pham Ngoc Thanh. They will compete in 36 disciplines.

According to head coach Nguyen Thi Nhung, the event provides a good opportunity for the sharpshooters to prepare for the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia this November.

At last year’s event in Indonesia, Vietnam won 17 gold medals.

PV