Chess GM Liem draws first blood at HDBank Open

Vietnam’s No 1 chess player Le Quang Liem opened his campaign at the 4th HDBank International Open Chess Tournament with a facile victory over Borsos Bogdan of Ukraine in HCM City on March 10.

His compatriots stumbled in other matches, with Tu Hoang Thong and Doan Thien Hai losing to Liu Xiangyi and Tin Jingyao of Singapore; and Nguyen Sy Hung losing to Yap Kim Steven of the Philippines.

The 9-round tournament, set to wrap up on March 15, will offer US$35,000 in prizes. The male winner will earn US$12,000 and the top woman will claim US$3,000.

Winners of previous editions, Le Quang Liem (3rd edition) and Ni Hua of China (2nd edition), are seeded one and two in a field of 80 players from 16 countries and territories including China, India, the Philippines and Russia.

VTV Binh Dien to face Lien Viet Postbank

VTV Binh Dien will meet Lien Viet Postbank in the final match of the International Women's Volleyball Tournament in Dac Nong Province today.

This tournament is also known as the Binh Dien VTV Cup and saw VTV Binh Dien defeating Viet Nam Bank for Industry and Trade 3-1 in the semi-finals yesterday. Meanwhile, defending champions Lien Viet Postbank bested China's Weifang 2-1 to reach the final.

The event saw the participation of eight local and foreign teams.

Khanh Hoa races into final four

Khanh Hoa delivered a crushing 4-0 victory over Binh Thuan in their final group A match yesterday, booking a spot in the semi-finals of the National Futsal Championships in HCM City.

The Khanh Hoa side immediately exerted their dominance over Binh Thuan, clocking an early lead just minutes into the match. Nghia E Ban opened the scoreboard after just three minutes with an early conversion from the far right, striking the low shot into the corner of the post.

Experience and superior teamwork delivered more opportunities for Khanh Hoa in the first half, with captain Ta Duc Dung converting another opportunity from the right wing at the ten minute mark to double the side's early lead.

Dung completed his run with a precision lob over goalkeeper Nguyen Quoc Trung, who had already made a number of brave saves.

Just four minutes later, coach Tran Thai Hoa's players extended the lead to three goals after Nguyen Quoc Bao stunned Binh Thuan players and goalie Trung with a powerful long-range shot from the halfway line. A spectacular save attempt from Trung saw him nudge the ball but not enough to push it out of range.

Binh Thuan's offence were barely able to carry out any attacks on Khanh Hoa keeper Vu Van Kha. Their fortunes remained unchanged in the second half with Khanh Hoa dominating play and extending their lead to 4-0 after Phan Dang Bao raced down the left side before delivering a snap pass to Tran Ba Tien for an easy conversion.

Despite creating additional chances to widen the gap even further, the scoreboard remained at 4–0 at the final whistle.

In other match developments, Thai Son Nam defeated Hoang Thu Da Nang to seal the group A's second ticket to the final four, which will kick off on Thursday.

Loan wins fourth stage at women's cycling open

Cyclist Pham Hong Loan took out the fourth stage of the Binh Duong International Women's Cycling Open yesterday during the 16 lap race in Nha Trang City.

Loan from Binh Duong Water Supply-Drainage and Environment 2 finished ahead of the peloton in the 56km race along the Tran Phu coastal road in Khanh Hoa Province, completing the event in 1hr 32min.

Panwaraporn Boonsawat of Thailand, Phan Thi Lieu and Nguyen Phan Ngoc Trang of Binh Duong Water Supply's 1 were the runners-up.

"With the training board's support, I was determined to do my best to clock a high ranking in this stage. Because of this win, I feel confident to compete in the next stages," said Loan.

Truong Thi Bich Nhien of Domesco Pharmacy Dong Thap 2 failed to finish in the top three but held onto the yellow jersey (best overall time) with a total time of 8:34.25.

In the team rankings, Domesco Pharmacy Dong Thap 2 lead with a total time of 25:48.28, followed by Thailand and Binh Duong 1.

Today, cyclists will race the 96km from Nha Trang City to Phan Rang City in Ninh Thuan Province.

HCM City hosts traditional martial arts tourney

A traditional martial arts and boxing Let's Viet Championship for outstanding national athletes is scheduled to take place in HCM City.

According to the organising board, the boxing event will take place from April 12 to September 20, with the martial arts event due to kick off from April 19 to September 27.

There are six weight categories for men and four for women in the boxing discipline. In the traditional martial arts category, men will compete in eight weight divisions, while women face off in two weight divisions.

The competitions will take place on Saturday each week.

The winner of each category will receive cash prize of VND25 million (US$1,200) and will be selected to compete at international tournaments.

Sanna Khanh Hoa and Thai Son Bac reach semi-finals of Futsal Championship

Sanna Khanh Hoa and Thai Son Bac have entered the semi-finals of the 2014 National Futsal Football Championship in HCM City yesterday.

The Championship has 10 teams participating and will continue until March 15.

In the fourth match of Group B, Thai Son Bac easily defeated Kim Toan Da Nang 5-2, while Sanna Khanh Hoa vanquished Tan Hiep Hung 5-4.

Today, Sanatech Khanh Hoa will play against An Phuoc Binh Thuan Hospital, and Hoang Thu Da Nang will face Thai Son Nam in Group A.

All the teams are competing in a round-robin format to select two winners for the semi-finals.