In the first round of the rapid chess play-off (25 minutes plus 10 seconds for each move), Le Quang Liem, holding the black pieces (going last), was evenly matched with Ruslan Ponomariov after 52 moves of intellectual competition. The two sides exchanged pieces for the return match with exciting developments in the endgame, but neither player was able to capitalize on the situation, so they continued to shake hands and draw.
Le Quang Liem lost to former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov
According to the tournament rules, Le Quang Liem and former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov had to play two more rapid games with less time (10 minutes plus 10 seconds for each move). In the first game, Quang Liem had the advantage of holding the white pieces (going first) and made very fast moves to gain time while Ruslan Ponomariov played more slowly. In the middle game, Vietnam's No. 1 player made a mistake and was immediately exploited by his opponent to win after 57 moves.
Forced to win the second leg in a disadvantageous position with the black pieces (going later), Le Quang Liem deployed an active attacking strategy. The Ho Chi Minh City player had an advantage over Ruslan Ponomariov at times but failed to capitalize on it, allowing his opponent to tie after 60 moves and accepting defeat.
Le Quang Liem has not yet surpassed his historical milestone at the Chess World Cup.
Losing to former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov in the rapid play-off, Le Quang Liem stopped in the third round of the 2023 Chess World Cup and received a prize of 10,000 USD. He could not surpass his career best result of reaching the fourth round.
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