Winning the national championship for two consecutive years in two different colors, Vo Thi Kim Phung has set a difficult record in the chess world that probably only appears in a season with many changes in the managing unit like this year. Specifically: Kim Phung left Bac Giang after 10 years to return to Ba Ria - Vung Tau; Nguyen Thi Mai Hung left Bac Giang to join Hanoi; Le Kieu Thien Kim said goodbye to Ho Chi Minh City to play for Ba Ria - Vung Tau; Luong Phuong Hanh moved from Binh Duong to Can Tho...
Vo Thi Kim Phung plays the opening game of the 2023 National Championship. (Photo: NGOC PHAN)
Winning the championship with an undefeated record like the 2022 season, Vo Thi Kim Phung continued 12 months full of success when owning 2 national championships, silver medal in women's rapid chess team at SEA Games 31, 2 gold medals at the National Sports Festival, bronze medal in blitz chess and 4th place in Asian standard chess, returning to the top 100 players on the FIDE rankings in February 2023 at position 93.
The 2023 National Chess Championship is entering its decisive phase with the rapid chess and ASEAN chess events for men and women. More than 200 players from 17 units have gathered in Ba Ria - Vung Tau to compete in rapid chess, blitz chess, standard chess, ASEAN chess, super blitz chess and OukChaktrang chess (a new competition event at the 32nd SEA Games, quite similar to chess and Chinese chess).
While the top female players all competed in the standard chess tournament, many famous players did not participate in the men's tournament, such as Le Quang Liem, Nguyen Anh Khoi (HCMC), Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Can Tho)... for personal reasons. That was the reason why the male players from Hanoi dominated most of the competitions. Tran Tuan Minh won two championships in standard chess and super blitz chess, while Le Tuan Minh won the gold medal in blitz chess.
It seems that the tournament was not a success for many familiar players, especially in the women's category. The new U20 Asian champion Bach Ngoc Thuy Duong (HCMC) only ranked 5th in standard chess, while grandmaster Nguyen Thi Mai Hung (Hanoi) only ranked 14th overall with 5.5 points after 9 games. The top female player Pham Le Thao Nguyen (Can Tho) could not defend her gold medal in blitz chess and her husband, player Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, only won a silver medal in super blitz chess and ranked 4th in blitz chess.
Hanoi chess team won big, while the HCM City team almost went home empty-handed if female chess player Nguyen Hong Anh had not excellently won the double gold medal in the super blitz and blitz chess events. This is a warning for HCM City chess team, although the female chess team is highly regarded, while the male team is gradually declining due to the lack of key players.
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