Out of breath at the decisive moment
The Olympiad is held every two years, considered the Olympics of intellectual chess, attracting most of the strong players and top teams in the world. This year, the Vietnamese team participated in both the men's and women's team events, in which the men's team with Le Quang Liem, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, Le Tuan Minh, Tran Tuan Minh, and Bang Gia Huy started in 21st place according to average Elo.
Le Tuan Minh (right) won the bronze medal in individual table number 3 at Olympiad 2024
Not highly rated compared to teams with strong and even forces such as India, the US, China, Uzbekistan... but the Vietnamese men's chess team played impressively. Le Quang Liem and his teammates made a splash when they defeated the defending champion Uzbekistan in game 4, defeated the stronger team Poland in game 5, and tied with former champion China in game 6. In which, Le Quang Liem defeated the reigning world standard chess individual champion Ding Liren (China). At the end of phase 1 (first 6 games), the Vietnamese chess team ranked second on the rankings. However, in phase 2 (last 5 games), Le Quang Liem and his teammates ran out of steam and only finished in 25th place overall.
The highlight of the Vietnamese men's chess team at this Olympiad is the impressive performance of player Le Tuan Minh. He played all 11 matches on board 3 and achieved an undefeated record (7 wins, 4 draws). Le Tuan Minh (elo 2,564) achieved a performance equivalent to a player with an elo of 2,795, and accumulated 33.7 elo ranks; he was honored in the individual category with a bronze medal at board 3. Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son also played quite well at board 2 with an undefeated record (3 wins, 7 draws), accumulating 12.6 elo ranks. Le Quang Liem played 9 matches on board 1, achieved 3 wins, 4 draws, 2 losses and was deducted 2.1 elo ranks. Tran Tuan Minh and Bang Gia Huy shared the competition at board 4, which was also the weakest board of the Vietnamese chess team at this Olympiad.
Need squad depth
Coach Bui Vinh of the Vietnamese men's chess team admitted that the fact that some Vietnamese players fell into a state of fatigue in the final games was part of the reason why they ran out of breath and missed moves, leading to undesirable results.
Another reason pointed out by the coaches is that the Vietnamese team is too thin, apart from the three main players Le Quang Liem, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, Le Tuan Minh, the other two players Tran Tuan Minh and Bang Gia Huy are still at different levels. Therefore, the Vietnamese team is considered to be "conceding" the opponent 1 goal, while in the team event, the importance of the 4 matches is the same, winning or losing is often decided at table number 4, not at the main tables. If there is an even squad, the coaching staff also has additional personnel options to rotate the main players to rest and regain their strength because the tournament lasts many days, with 11 matches, some matches lasting more than 5 hours.
After former U.10 and U.12 world champion Nguyen Anh Khoi temporarily stopped playing chess to complete his goal of becoming a doctor, Vietnamese chess lost a position in the Olympiad squad. Experts expect young talents such as Bang Gia Huy, Dau Khuong Duy, Pham Tran Gia Phuc, and Dinh Nho Kiet to be well cared for and invested in, and have solid development to replace and supplement the quality of the Vietnamese chess team, aiming for higher results at the 2026 Olympiad scheduled to take place in Uzbekistan.
Award 130 million VND
To encourage the competitive spirit of the Vietnamese chess team at the 2024 Olympiad, yesterday the Vietnam Chess Federation, with the support of sponsors, awarded 130 million VND. The Vietnamese chess team also finished the Olympiad and returned home. Chess player Le Quang Liem returned to the US to continue his role as head coach of the Webster University chess team and director of the SPICE Chess Academy.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/co-vua-viet-nam-gay-tiec-nuoi-olympiad-2024-185240924215412029.htm
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