In Round 6 of the 45th Chess Olympiad 2024, held in Hungary, the Vietnamese men’s chess team faced China, with the matches concluding in the early hours of September 17 (Vietnamese time).
Grandmaster Le Quang Liem faced Ding Liren on Board 3. Le Quang Liem is ranked 14th in the FIDE rankings with an Elo rating of 2741, while Ding Liren is 15th with a rating of 2736.
Le Quang Liem needed a win over the Chinese grandmaster to ensure a favorable result for the team. After 62 moves and nearly four hours of intense play, Le Quang Liem secured a victory over Ding Liren. Because Ding Liren is a top player and the reigning World Chess Champion in classical chess, this loss will impact his Elo rating.
On the other boards, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son drew with the 8th-ranked Wei Yi, and Le Tuan Minh drew with Yu Yangyi. Grandmaster Tran Tuan Minh faced Wang Yue but lost. Consequently, the match ended in a 2-2 draw between the Vietnamese and Chinese men’s chess teams.
In Round 7, the Vietnamese men’s chess team will compete against Iran. Following this round, the Vietnamese team has temporarily moved up to second place in the overall standings (behind India), while China is in third place.
In the women’s section, Vietnam lost to Azerbaijan with a score of 1.5-2.5. In this 6th-round match, Pham Le Thao Nguyen won, Bach Ngoc Thuy Duong drew, while Vo Thi Kim Phung and Luong Phuong Hanh lost.
The 45th Chess Olympiad 2024, held in Hungary from September 10 to 23, features 196 men’s teams and 183 women’s teams. There is a rest day on September 17, with play resuming on September 18. The tournament consists of 11 rounds of standard chess, with team standings based on cumulative points.
