Chess

After 860 days without any standard chess competitions, Liem played white against Shankland, who is the 2021 title holder. The stance was balanced until Shankland made a mistake mid-game. He surrendered after 42 moves. This victory brought Liem back into the FIDE standard chess ranking at 26th, the same spot as Shankland, with a real-time Elo rating of 2,714. His goal is to enter the top 20. In the second match, Liem will play black against Iranian GM Parham Maghsoodloo, who drew with Czech-Vietnamese player Nguyen Thai Dai Van. Prague Masters will take place from June 8 to 17 with one match played daily. The chess festival in Prague, Czech Republic will consist of four groups of different levels. The lowest is the Open and anyone can register. The next three levels are Futures, Challengers and Masters. Liem is invited to the Masters group, along with nine other grandmasters. The average Elo rating of the 10 grandmasters is 2,693. Liem is the third seed in this tournament. … [Read more...] about Vietnam chess ace defeats defending champion of Prague Masters

Liem played white and entered the game with an unorthodox approach to confuse the opponent. This match was heavy on tactics and both players made mistakes. However, only Liem could take advantage of Saleh's flawed play and won the match after 52 moves. This victory once again sent Liem to the top of Prague Masters with 4.5 points, followed by India's Pentala Harikrishna with 4 points and Vietnamese-Czech player Nguyen Thai Dai Van with 3.5 points. Of six matches, Liem won three. In the seventh round Wednesday night, Liem will play black against Harikrishna. The win against Saleh also earned Liem 4.6 Elo, which put his real-time Elo rating at 2,722 and got him to 23rd in the world standard chess ranking. Liem is still 7 Elo away from the top 20. If he wants to reach that mark, he would need to win two and draw one in the remaining three matches of the tournament. Prague Masters will take place from June 8 to 17 with one match played daily. The chess festival in Prague, Czech … [Read more...] about Vietnam chess ace beats former Asian champ

Vietnamese grandmaster Le Quang Liem maintained both his top position and undefeated streak following a win against Salem Saleh from the UAE in their sixth match on Wednesday as part of the Prague Masters 2022, taking place in the Czech Republic. Liem, holding the white pawn, claimed victory after 52 moves. He managed to solve smart steps from Saleh, who won both the Asian Chess Championship and Asian blitz chess championship in 2015, to gradually take over the match. Liem retains the top place with 4.5 points, 0.5 points higher than India’s Pentala Harikrishna in second place, after three wins and three draws at the tournament. The Prague Masters 2022 is hosted by the Czech Republic from June 8 to 17, with one match played daily. It consists of four groups of different levels, with the masters being the most competitive. Liem was invited to play in the masters group and is the fourth seed in the tournament. He is scheduled to compete against Harikrishna in the next … [Read more...] about Vietnam chess ace extends unbeaten run at Prague Masters

Liem will start his first match at 8 p.m. (Hanoi time) against the defending champion, American GM Sam Shankland. This is Liem’s first standard chess match since the draw against Russian GM Mikhail Kobalia at Gibraltar Masters on Jan. 20, 2020. It’s been 860 days since then and for that reason, Liem was removed from the FIDE standard chess ranking despite having an Elo rating of 2,790. Shankland is a reserve member of the U.S. team in the 2022 Chess Olympiad. Shankland's Elo is 2,718, ranked sixth in the U.S. and 25th in the world. In 2021, Shankland also attended Prague Masters and won the title with 5.5 points after nine games. In chess, playing white will give players the advantage of moving first. According to data from Chessgames, playing white has a win rate of 37.5 percent, draw rate of 34.9 percent, and a 27.6 percent chance of losing. Liem's goal at the Prague Masters is to accumulate standard chess Elo to return to the world’s top 20. Prague Masters will take place in … [Read more...] about Vietnam GM scores big advantage at Prague Masters

Vietnamese grandmaster Le Quang Liem has fallen to second place in the standing at the Prague Masters 2022 after drawing with India’s Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, the No. 1 seed of the tournament, in their eighth match on Friday morning. Liem aimed at a victory over Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, who is the No. 2 chess player in India, just behind the legendary five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand. With the white pawn advantage, Liem moved forward to try to score points, but Gujrathi managed to solve his attacks. The two players exchanged pieces in a series of closely related moves and eventually tied after 81 moves. The draw saw Liem maintain his unbeaten run at the tournament with 5.5 points after three wins and five draws but he lost the top position to Pentala Harikrishna, who defeated Salem Saleh from the UAE in another match on the same day to equal the Vietnamese chess ace, based on tie-break regulations. Moving forward, Liem will play Francisco Vallejo Pons of Spain in the … [Read more...] about Vietnam grandmaster loses top position at Prague Masters

The draw against Spanish player Francisco Vallejo Pons put Vietnam chess ace Le Quang Liem in second at the Prague Masters 2022 in the Czech Republic on Friday. The door was wide open for Liem after the eighth round when he maintained his unbeaten run at the tournament with three wins and five draws, earning a total of 5.5 points, equal to Pentala Harikrishna’s from India, who was in top position. With the black pawn disadvantage, Liem had some difficulties playing against Vallejo Pons. The two players accepted a draw after 48 moves. In another match on the same day, Harikrishna only played against rock-bottom David Anton Guijarro of Spain and managed to beat him after five hours. As a result, Harikrishna won the overall title with 6.5 points while Liem became the runner-up of the tournament with six points after nine matches. The Prague Masters 2022 is hosted by the Czech Republic from June 8 to 17, with one match played daily. It consists of four groups of different … [Read more...] about Vietnam grandmaster runner-up at Prague Masters

Despite morden coffee shops popping up across Ho Chi Minh City, ca phe vot , or net-filter coffee, still holds a place in the hearts of many who desire the nostalgic vibes of old Saigon. Net-filter coffee takes its name because the coffee is brewed with the old-fashioned filtration method using a spoon-shaped net filter which resembles the instrument used to catch fish at aquatic stores. The net filter, consisting of a white cloth and a steel handle, will first be placed upon an empty stainless steel jug before the barista spoons some ground coffee into the net and adds hot water to the mix. A customer poses for a photo at a nameless 'ca phe vot' café in a small alley on Phan Dinh Phung Street, Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duc Noise / Tuoi Tre The net will be kept in the jug for a few seconds before the barista adds more water and pour the ready-to-serve beverage into glasses. The entire process takes just a few minutes. The morning rush at … [Read more...] about Net-filter coffee a testament to Saigon’s rich coffee tradition

Para powerlifting Lê Văn Công (left) of Việt Nam and the other medallists of the men's U49kg category pose for photos at the World Para Powerlifting - Asia Oceania Open Championship in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Photos courtesy of Para Powerlifting Thanh Hà HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese para-athlete Lê Văn Công is feeling confident ahead of the ASEAN Para Games next month, after taking silver at the Asia Oceania Open Championship of the World Para Powerlifting competition in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Việt Nam sent its five strongest athletes to the Asian Open, which will finish on June 20. They are facing 230 athletes from 32 countries, and have so far taken three silvers and one bronze medal. The competition is divided into 10 weight classes in the men’s and women’s categories. It is the first of four Regional Championships in the 2022 Para powerlifting season followed, by the Americas, Africa, and European Open Championships. Công, who won a Tokyo Olympic silver medal … [Read more...] about Paralympian Công takes Asian Open silver, confident ahead of ASEAN Games