Liem takes berth at world champs
(18-06-2009)
HA NOI — International Grand Master (IGM) Le Quang Liem has claimed a spot in the World Chess Championship (World Cup) to be held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia late this year.
Liem ranked fifth in the Asian Chess Championship in Subic, the Philippines last month which, according to World Chess Federation (FIDE) regulations, qualifies him automatically for the finals of the World Championship taking place from November 20-December 15.
Liem’s teammate IGM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, who did not finish in the top 10 at the Asian competition, must continue to battle for a berth in the 2009 World Championship; he would have to rank in the top two at the World Chess Championship qualifiers taking place in HCM City on July 22-30.
The 18-year-old, HCM City-born Liem, has joined in the world top 20, with an elo rate of 2,591 in April’s FIDE rankings, and is the only Vietnamese player to make the leading list of male chess masters.
He was conferred the IGM title after the Chess Olympiad 2006 finished in Turin in 2006.
At the championship this year, Liem will test his skills against such formidable opponents as Viswanathan Anan from India, G Kamsky of the US, A Shirov of Spain, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and Ivanchuk from the Ukraine.
In 2007, Liem, Son and Le Thanh Tu claimed three regional spots at the World Cup in Mexico after stellar competition in the World Chess Championships qualifiers on Phu Quoc Island, in Kien Giang Province. — VNS
Source: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn
He’ll break into the top 100 soon.