The special teacher of chess player Le Quang Liem

PROUD OF FAMOUS STUDENT

Coach Lam Minh Chau remembers clearly the first time he and Le Quang Liem attended the Asian Youth Championship in India more than 20 years ago. Having no experience traveling abroad, he thought that India would be hot so no one brought warm clothes. Unexpectedly, the competition venue was in Northwest India, 500 km from the capital New Delhi, and the weather was terribly cold. On the way by car to the accommodation arranged by the organizing committee, Coach Lam Minh Chau took a vest to cover Le Quang Liem to keep him warm. "When we arrived at the hotel, everyone was fine, but I had a high fever so I couldn't help my student and even "harmed" Liem's ​​mother and son, who had to spend time taking care of him," Mr. Chau recalled. Also in 2001, when attending the World Youth Championship in Spain, due to procedural problems, Coach Lam Minh Chau could not fly on the same flight as Le Quang Liem, so the 10-year-old boy had to arrive first with a lot of luggage for himself, the coach and his family.

Coach Lam Minh Chau and Le Quang Liem have been together for a long time.

Mr. Lam Minh Chau has accompanied Le Quang Liem since the early days. Until now, Liem has grown up with the peak of the world blitz chess championship in 2013, reaching the highest elo milestone in his career of 2,741 (August 2024). Besides his success in chess, Le Quang Liem has also been successful in his academic path when he won a full scholarship to study abroad in the US, graduated with 2 excellent university degrees and was retained at Webster University as head coach of the chess team. He also holds the position of Director of SPICE Chess Academy. "I am very proud of what Le Quang Liem has achieved in both his career and life. Until now, even though Liem has become a famous person, wherever we go, Liem still introduces me as his teacher. I cannot help Liem at the moment, but I always follow and wish him more and more success," shared the "veteran" coach of Vietnamese chess.

TEACHER AND STUDENTS CONFRONT AT KPN EST CHESS TOURNAMENT

After 10 years of not competing domestically, on December 1, Le Quang Liem will return to compete in the KPNest Gold-Plated Chess Cup tournament at The Adora (HCMC). The organizers hope that the tournament will contribute to promoting the Vietnamese chess movement, so super grandmaster Le Quang Liem accepted to participate in the tournament. In addition to competing in the men's open group for top players, Quang Liem also had an exchange session and competed with 35 athletes at the same time. This event attracted the attention of many chess fans, especially many young players who consider him an idol and a role model.

It is quite interesting that in the men's open group at the KPNest chess tournament, coach Lam Minh Chau also participated. At the age of 63, with his chess skills, Mr. Chau could hardly compete with "experts" such as Le Quang Liem, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, Le Tuan Minh... but he still participated with the purpose of supporting and promoting the movement. Mr. Lam Minh Chau is also passionate about the KPNest chess tournament. "I am very impressed with this tournament because the organizers offered the highest prize ever in Vietnam. The prize is also divided equally among the groups, such as the champion of the U.8 group is also awarded 50 million VND like the champion of the open group. Hopefully the tournament will be a great success and will be held annually, becoming a meaningful playground for chess players," said coach Lam Minh Chau.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguoi-thay-dac-biet-cua-ky-thu-le-quang-liem-185241103184706148.htm