Chess player Truong Son passed the Olympic Esports Series chess qualifying round to attend the final round taking place in Singapore.
In the final qualifying round, which took place online on the evening of May 5, Hanoi time, Truong Son had to defeat Russian Grandmaster Aleksandr Shimanov to reach the final round. The Vietnamese player led 2-1 through three games, and only needed a draw in the final game. In the deciding game, Truong Son initially had the advantage but could not capitalize and fell into a losing position. However, the 33-year-old player defended tenaciously, then counterattacked and checked to draw.
Truong Son won the individual gold medal in board two at the 2018 Chess Olympiad in Georgia. Photo: Lam Minh Chau
With a 2.5-1.5 victory over Shimanov, Truong Son secured a place in the final round. He breathed a sigh of relief after this result, while the Russian player kept shaking his head in dissatisfaction.
Truong Son participated in the qualifying round with 15 other players, after passing the preliminary round on April 13, 2023. According to the qualifying round rules, the 16 players were divided into groups to compete in the Swiss elimination format, meaning that those who won three matches would advance, and those who lost three matches would be eliminated.
In the first match, Truong Son lost to Olexandr Bortnyk 0.5-2.5, then defeated Read Samadov 2.5-0.5. In the third match, the Vietnamese representative lost to Alexey Sarana 0-5-2.5 and was at risk of being eliminated if he lost another match. However, he stayed in the game with a 2.5-1.5 win over Yahli Sokolovsky, before dramatically defeating Shimanov.
The other seven players who qualified with Truong Son were Maksim Chigaev, Jaime Santos Latasa, Bassem Amin, Bortnyk, Sarana, Samvel Ter-Sahakyan and Shant Sargsyan.
The finals will take place in Singapore from June 22 to 25, with the eight players and two invited masters participating. All players will have their travel and accommodation sponsored by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The format of the finals has not yet been determined, but in the qualifying rounds, players will play three minutes of blitz chess per game, with two seconds added after each move.
The Olympic Esports Series is a virtual sports tournament initiated by the IOC and held for the first time this year 2023. There are nine sports appearing in the tournament, including archery, baseball, chess, cycling, dancing, motor sport, sailing, tennis and taekwondo, all competing in a virtual environment.
Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son was born in 1990 in Kien Giang, and was the U10 World Champion. His highest Elo in his career was 2,665 in November 2011, and he also won eight SEA Games gold medals. The 33-year-old's outstanding international achievements include two individual gold medals on board two at the 2014 and 2018 Chess Olympiad. He currently has an Elo of 2,645, ranking 100th in the world, second in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
Xuan Binh
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