Vietnamese chess players on September 24 scored their first win, emerging victorious over Taiwan and Honduras, in the first round of the 2018 Chess Olympiad taking place in the Batumi, Georgia.

Right to left: Truong Son, Tuan Minh, Anh Khoi, and Thien Hai

On the first day, four Vietnamese chess players, including Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Elo 2620), Tran Tuan Minh (Elo 2491), Nguyen Anh Khoi (2463), and Dao Thien Hai (Elo 2477), handily defeated their rivals Bai Adelard (Elo 2111), Song Raymond (Elo 2305), Yang Ching W (Elo 2198), and Liu Yeh Yang (Elo 1926), respectively.

The Vietnam women’s team also had a successful day in the opening round. Young Vietnamese chess master Bach Ngoc Thuy Duong (Elo 2161) beat Marcella Garcia (Elo 1755) while Vo Thi Kim Phung defeated Any Figueroa (Elo 1739) after 34 moves.

Hoang Thi Bao Tram (Elo 2323) and Nguyen Thi Mai Hung (Elo 2244) also gained victories over Bitia Cruz (Elo 1702) and Katherine Berenice Ortiz (Elo 1822).

In the second round, the Vietnam men’s team will meet Iraqi rivals with the average Elo of 2305 while the women’s team will face International Chess Committee of the Deaf (ICCD) team with average Elo of 1980.

This year’s Chess Olympiad, a biennial tournament organized by the World Chess Federation (FIDE), is drawing the participation of 185 teams from around the world.  The tournament runs through October 5.

VOV