Quang Liem beats UK No.1 at Chess Olympiad

Vietnamese chess star Le Quang Liem Friday scored an impressive victory over England’s number one player Michael Adams in the ninth round of the 2012 World Chess Olympiad in Turkey, earning a final 3 – 1 win for the national men’s team.

Liem won the match despite being considered the underdog due to his lower Elo rating, 2693 compared with 2722, while his teammates also skillfully defeated the remaining British rivals.

Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (2639) drew Nigel Short (2698) at the second board, while Nguyen Van Huy (2506) beat David Howell (2635), and Nguyen Duc Hoa (2505) also ended his match with Nicholas Petr (2555) in a tie. 

The unexpected win sent the men’s team from 23rd place in the previous round to 16th place, with 13 points after nine rounds.

The Vietnamese men are now two points behind the leading group, consisting of China, Russia, Armenia, and the US, and closely following Ukraine, Argentina, and the Netherlands with just a one-point gap.

Meanwhile, the tournament has not been that fortunate for the female teammates, as they lost 1.5 – 2.5 to the German rivals.

Hoang Thi Nhu Y’s (2228) win over Elena Levushkina (2301), and the draw of Pham Le Thao Nguyen (2393) with Elisabeth Paehtz (2483) were not enough to save the women.

At the third and fourth boards, Nguyen Thi Mai Hung (221) and Le Kieu Thien Kim (2226) were both defeated by their stronger opponents, Tetyana Melamed (2356) and Marta Michna (2380).

The second consecutive loss dropped them to 26th place on the tally.

The Vietnamese men’s team will face the Philippines, ranked 12th, while the women will play third-seeded Georgia in the 10th round Saturday.