A 17-year-old chess prodigy of Vietnam, Tran Minh Thang has earned a draw with the UK’s chess Grandmaster Nigel Short at the 2017 Negros International Open Chess Championship in the Philippines.

Tran Minh Thang (right) and his elder brother Tran Tuan Minh

The 52-year old Grandmaster Nigel Short is the No.1 seed in the world with an Elo rating of 2698 while the 11th seed Minh Thang has a rating of 2352. 

In the first two matches, both players took the lead in their groups and subsequently met in the third match.

Minh Thang achieved a draw in the match with the Grandmaster to gain 2.5 points.

Other Vietnamese players taking part in the tournament include Tran Tuan Minh (Elo rating of 2558), and Nguyen Duc Hoa (Elo rating 2499).

This year’s tournament opened on October 11 and has attracted the participation of 51 chess prodigies from six nations around the world, it runs until October 19. 

VOV