GM Liem makes good start at UK Chess Champs

Vietnamese GM Le Quang Liem (Elo 2705) narrowly defeated his Spanish rival Marttala Thomas (Elo 2217) in his first match of the Festival Tradewise Gibraltar 2013 in the UK on January 22.

Even as a black player Liem still dominated the match after 47 moves.

With this win he has been placed 6th in the tournament rankings.

He will face France’s Roser Kevin (Elo 2409) in his next match.

Hanoian taekwondo athletes to compete in Phuket

Hanoian athletes will represent Viet Nam at the Phuket International Choi Young-seok Taekwondo Championships on January 26-28.

The Vietnamese, including some national team members, will compete against more than 30 strong delegations from Asia and Europe in both performance and combat categories.

The tournament, which debuts this year, is expected to be included on the World Taekwondo Federation's list in the coming year.

Vietnam to host SEA Student Sports Festival

The fifth Southeast Asian Student Sports Festival will be held in Hanoi from June 22-30.

It is expected to draw eight teams from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam plus a guest team from Laos.

1,500 athletes will compete in nine events: track-and-field, takraw, swimming, badminton, basketball, gymnastics, table-tennis, volleyball, and Pencak Silat.

The Vietnamese team is aiming for 20-25 gold medals to rank 3rd or 4th in the festival.

Viet Nam test skills at regional event

Viet Nam will take part in the second Southeast Asian Karate Championships, hosted by the Philippines on April 18 to 21 at the Fontana in Clark Field Pampanga, Angele City.

Eleven ASEAN countries will send about 200 athletes to participate in the tournament.

Viet Nam, as one of the leading countries in the region, is set to send their strongest contenders there. The event serves as intensive preparation for their most important event of the year: the 27th SEA Games in Myanmar in December.

VNN/VOV/VNS