Le Quang Liem (L) and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Photo: Huu Binh)
Hanoi (VNA) – Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son brought
home the last gold medal for the Vietnam delegation in the men’s team’s blitz
chess category at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG), which
concluded in Turkmenistan on September 27.
Grandmasters Liem and Son defeated Chinese rivals 2-0 to take gold. Liem bested
Wang Yue, while Son crushed Yu Yang-yi.
Earlier, the Vietnamese duo bested their arch rivals from India 1.5-0.5 in the
semi-finals. The game demonstrated Son’s outstanding fitness. Although he held
the black pawns – meaning he lacked the advantage of being able to make the
first move – he beat Ganguly Surya Shekhar. On the other board, Liem tied with
Krishnan Sasikiran.
In the qualifying round, Vietnam defeated rivals from Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan
and tied with Indonesia, India and China.
On the women’s side, Pham Le Thao Nguyen and Hoang Thi Bao Tram won a silver
medal after losing to China’s Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie 0-2 in the final.
In the semi-final, Nguyen and Tram defeated Turkmenistan rivals 1.5-0.5. Tram
beat Velieva Hurma and Nguyen drew with Geldiyeva Mahri.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese male and female U23 teams failed in the qualification.
On September 26, Liem paired with Son to take gold medal in the men’s
team rapid chess event. Earlier on September 24, the HCM City-born player
Liem won gold in the men’s individual standard category.
Vietnam’s chess team won a total of three golds, one silver and two bronzes,
making an important contribution to Vietnam’s achievements at this year’s
tournament.
Vietnam earned 13 golds, eight silvers and 19 bronzes to rank ninth in
the medal tally.
The hosts topped the rankings with 89 golds, 70 silvers and 86 bronzes.
China were the runner-up with 42 golds, followed by Iran who earned 36 golds.
Liem and swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien are the two best athletes from Vietnam in
Turkmenistan. Liem won three gold medals, including two in team events, while
Vien seized two golds and one silver and broke two records.-VNA