On September 17 (Vietnam time), the Vietnamese chess team faced the Chinese rival in the Open Group.  In the first three games, players Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Elo 2.633) and Le Minh Tuan (Elo 2.564) drew with their Chinese rivals while player Tran Tuan Minh (Elo 2.434) lost to Wang Yue (Elo 2.637). Therefore, in the final match, Le Quang Liem (Elo 2.741) needed to defeat Ding Liren (Elo 2.736) to equalize the scores. This was a difficult task for the Vietnamese player as Ding Liren is the reigning world champion.

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Le Quang Liem (left) seen during the match against Ding Leren (Photo: FIDE)

Finally, Liem won Ding Liren after nearly 5 hours. This is the first time that a Vietnamese player has defeated the reigning world champion in standard chess.

Previously, the Vietnamese team defeated the 2022 champion Uzbekistan and Polish seed No.11. After 6 rounds, the Vietnamese team ranked 2nd in the Open Group with 11 points while the leading team was India with a perfect record.

The Chess Olympiad 2024 lasts from September 10-23, drawing the participation of international top players. The best record obtained by the Vietnamese chess team in the Open Group was the 7th place in 2012 and 2018. This was also the highest rank that the female team achieved in 2016. Considering the combined results of both groups, the Vietnamese chess team once ranked 9th in 2018.

Translated by Thanh Hai