Le Quang Liem had a dream start at the prestigious chess tournament in the US

Vietnam's No. 1 chess player Le Quang Liem took the top spot on the rankings after the first day of the Saint Louis rapid and blitz chess tournament - a tournament in the Grand Chess Tour system with a total prize of up to 175,000 USD taking place in the US.

Le Quang Liem is the last player invited to participate in the Saint Louis 2023 rapid and blitz chess tournament, replacing the reigning world champion Ding Liren (China). The tournament will take place at the Saint Louis Chess Club (Missouri, USA) from November 15 to 19, with two events: rapid chess (9 games) and blitz chess (18 games). The total prize money for this tournament is 175,000 USD, of which the prize for the championship title is 40,000 USD (about 920 million VND).

Le Quang Liem (left) in the match against world's 8th ranked player So Wesley

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The tournament has the participation of 10 strong players including: Fabiano Caruana (USA, world rank 2), Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia, world rank 5), Alireza Firouzja (France, world rank 6), Anish Giri (Netherlands, world rank 7), So Wesley (USA, world rank 8), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France, world rank 20), Le Quang Liem (world rank 21), Ray Robson (USA, world rank 39), Sam Sevian (USA, world rank 40), Jeffery Xiong (USA, world rank 51).

Vietnam's No. 1 chess player Le Quang Liem is interviewed at the Saint Louis rapid and blitz chess tournament.

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On the first day of competition on November 15 (Vietnam time) with the first 3 games of rapid chess, Le Quang Liem excellently defeated the world's 8th ranked player So Wesley in game 1 and the American chess "prodigy" Jeffery Xiong in game 3. Along with the draw against Ray Robson in game 2, Vietnam's No. 1 player achieved 5 points after 3 games and took the top spot on the rankings, 1 point more than the 2nd and 3rd ranked opponents, Alireza Firouzja and Ray Robson, respectively.

Le Quang Liem confidently conquers prestigious chess tournament in the US

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On the second day of competition (November 16), Le Quang Liem continued to play 3 rapid chess games, facing Sam Sevian, Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana. Vietnamese chess fans expect that with this impressive start, Le Quang Liem will confidently conquer strong opponents in this prestigious tournament.

Le Quang Liem takes sole lead in Saint Louis rapid and blitz chess tournament

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Le Quang Liem currently lives and works in the US as the coach of the Webster University chess team - the strongest chess team among universities in the US. In addition, he also holds the position of Director of the SPICE Chess Academy . With a busy schedule, Le Quang Liem still maintains his chess practice and competes in international tournaments. The most recent tournament that Le Quang Liem participated in was with the Vietnamese chess team competing at the 19th ASIAD in Hangzhou (China) at the end of September 2023.

Thanhnien.vn