VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese chess players Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son won another gold medal at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) in Turkmenistan yesterday, beating their Chinese opponents 1.5-0.5 in the men’s team rapid chess event.

May the best men win: Vietnamese Grandmasté Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (right) shake hands with their Chinese rivals ahead of the men's rapid team final yesterday. — Photo courtesy Huu Binh

Grandmaster (GM) Liem defeated Wang Yue, while GM Son tied with Li Chao.

Earlier in the semi-finals, the Vietnamese players beat hosts Turkmensitan 2-1.

In the first two matches, Liem and Son drew with Meilis Annaberdiev and Saparmyrat Atabayev respectively. In the decisive game, Liem bested Annaberdiev to take Viet Nam to the final.

Fifteen teams participated in the rapid chess event. They competed over five rounds to get to the semifinals. At the end of five rounds, Viet Nam was ranked third, entering the semifinals alongside China, Turkmenistan and Qatar.

On the women’s side, Pham Le Thao Nguyen and Nguyen Thi Thanh An bagged a bronze medal after losing to Chinese rivals in their semifinal match.

Viet Nam have thus far won two gold medals in chess. On Sunday, Liem won a gold in the men’s individual standard category.

“This is a special day for me as it is the first time that I have won two gold medals in one event,” Liem said.

“I am always confident when playing with Liem. Our co-ordination and teamwork is perfect,” said Son.

Liem, who began playing chess at the age of seven, has won several prestigious prizes, including the blitz championship title at the 2013 World Blitz and the Rapid Chess championships. He also won the overall championship title at the HDBank International Open Chess Tournaments in 2013, 2015 and 2017.

With Liem contesting, Viet Nam is expected to win one more gold medal in the men’s team’s blitz chess division.

With 12 gold, seven silver and 19 bronze medals, Viet Nam ranks eighth in the AIMAG medal tally. 

VNS