My Lai Ly Huynh had the advantage of winning but lost to Manh Than, unable to bring home the first world men's singles chess championship for Vietnam.
In the early morning final match of November 24, Hanoi time, Ly Huynh went first, gaining a knight in the middle game, and had the advantage of time. Manh Than tried to prolong the game until the end, waiting for Vietnam's number one player to make a mistake. In the end, Ly Huynh miscalculated the move of exchanging rooks, leaving the game in a balanced position. His key mistake was not capturing the Chinese player's pawn before exchanging rooks, leaving it as an important piece to defend the king's face.
Tied after 101 moves in a standard game, the two players played a rapid tie-break. This time the Chinese player went first, winning after only 35 moves. The result meant that Manh Than extended China's streak of dominating the men's singles event at the world tournament to 18 consecutive games. Meanwhile, Ly Huynh missed the opportunity to make history not only for Vietnam, but also for the world chess community.
Lai Ly Huynh (right) in the world chess final with Manh Than in Houston, Texas, USA, November 24, 2023
The World Xiangqi Championship has been held every two years since 1990, and has been held mainly in odd years since then. Previously, the best achievement of a Vietnamese player was a silver medal, won by Nguyen Thanh Bao in Shandong, China in 2009.
This year's tournament took place in Houston, Texas from November 19 to November 24, and was also the first time it was held in the US. There were 13 teams participating, including teams from outside Asia such as England, Germany, Canada and the host. The events included men's and women's individual standard chess, men's and women's team, U16 men's and women's, U12 men's and women's. Each team was allowed to send a maximum of two players to each event. Vietnam had two representatives in the men's single standard chess event, Ly Huynh and Nguyen Minh Nhat Quang.
China has registered two players for the men's singles, world number one Wang Tianyi and Meng Shen. The two players were listed for finishing in the top two at last year's national championship. However, Wang was unable to compete due to visa issues, and China was unable to send a replacement.
Manh Than is 35 years old and has never won the world individual championship. However, he is the nemesis of Vuong Thien Nhat, having defeated the world number one player three times in 2017. Ly Huynh is 33 years old and was the world rapid chess champion in 2022, but this is the first time he has won a standard chess medal at this level.
Chinese Chess is an intellectual sport originating from China, appearing from several hundred to thousands of years ago. This sport has also been popular in Vietnam for hundreds of years, and is currently mainly a hobby of middle-aged people and older.
The championship helped Manh Than receive 8,000 USD in prize money, while Ly Huynh came in second with 5,000 USD. In addition to Ly Huynh's silver medal in men's singles, Vietnam also won one gold, two silver and two bronze medals from other events. The gold medal was won by Tran Nguyen Minh Hang in the U12 women's event.
Today, the players will stay to play the world rapid chess tournament at the same location.
Xuan Binh
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