Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son brought home the last gold medal for the Vietnam delegation in the men’s team’s blitz chess category at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG), which concluded in Turkmenistan on September 27.

Liem (left) and Son.

Grandmasters Liem and Son defeated Chinese rivals 2-0 to take gold. Liem bested Wang Yue, while Son crushed Yu Yang-yi.

Earlier, the Vietnamese duo bested their arch rivals from India 1.5-0.5 in the semi-finals. The game demonstrated Son’s outstanding fitness. Although he held the black pawns - meaning he lacked the advantage of being able to make the first move - he beat Ganguly Surya Shekhar. On the other board, Liem tied with Krishnan Sasikiran.

In the qualifying round, Vietnam defeated rivals from Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan and tied with Indonesia, India and China.

On the women’s side, Pham Le Thao Nguyen and Hoang Thi Bao Tram won a silver medal after losing to China’s Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie 0-2 in the final.

In the semi-final, Nguyen and Tram defeated Turkmenistan rivals 1.5-0.5. Tram beat Velieva Hurma and Nguyen drew with Geldiyeva Mahri.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese male and female U23 teams failed in the qualification.

On September 26, Liem paired with Son to take gold medal in the men’s team rapid chess event. Earlier on September 24, the HCM City-born player Liem won gold in the men’s individual standard category.

Vietnam’s chess team won a total of three golds, one silver and two bronzes, making an important contribution to Vietnam’s achievements at this year’s tournament.

Vietnam earned 13 golds, eight silvers and 19 bronzes to rank ninth in the medal tally.

The hosts topped the rankings with 89 golds, 70 silvers and 86 bronzes. China were the runner-up with 42 golds, followed by Iran who earned 36 golds.

Liem and swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien are the two best athletes from Vietnam in Turkmenistan. Liem won three gold medals, including two in team events, while Vien seized two golds and one silver and broke two records.

VNA