The Chess Olympiad, held every two years, is considered the Olympics of chess, attracting 197 men's teams and 183 women's teams with nearly 2,000 athletes competing. At this year's Olympiad, the Vietnamese men's chess team consisted of five players: Le Quang Liem, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, Le Tuan Minh, Tran Tuan Minh, and Banh Gia Huy. With an average Elo rating of 2,593, the Vietnamese team started at position 21 but created a major surprise by winning all five games against Liechtenstein, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Poland. In particular, Le Quang Liem and his teammates earned the respect of the entire chess world by defeating the reigning champion Uzbekistan in the fourth game. This team boasts world number 6 Abdusattorov Nodirbek (Elo 2,766) and a streak of 22 undefeated matches. Furthermore, the outstanding performance of Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Le Tuan Minh, along with the leading role of world number 14 Le Quang Liem, helped the Vietnamese chess team defeat another strong opponent, the Polish team of former European champion Duda Jan Krzysztof (elo 2733).
The Vietnamese chess team at the 2024 Chess Olympiad.
The Vietnamese chess team, along with India, China, and Hungary, are the four teams with a perfect record after five rounds. Remarkably, the Vietnamese team, the lowest seeded team, is achieving the highest ranking at the Olympiad. Experts are particularly impressed by the performance of the trio Le Quang Liem, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, and Le Tuan Minh. In the previous rounds, Le Quang Liem's chess strength was equivalent to a player with an Elo rating of 2810, Truong Son's was 2849, and Le Tuan Minh's was 2810. It's worth noting that Carlsen (Norway), ranked number 1 on the World Chess Federation (FIDE), has an Elo rating of 2832, while Nakamura Hikaru (USA), ranked number 2, has 2802, highlighting Truong Son's high level of performance and skill.
Truong Son...
Quang Liem is in top form.
The chess team's teacher and students
With the Olympiad being played using the Swiss system with a total of 11 rounds, teams need to defeat most of their strong opponents to achieve a high overall ranking. Therefore, Le Quang Liem and his teammates need to maintain maximum focus and excellent performance. In round 6, the Vietnamese chess team will face the very strong Chinese team, the 3rd seed in the 2024 Olympiad. They possess a team with an average Elo rating of 2,724, including stars like the reigning world champion and chess king Ding Liren (Elo 2,736), and Wei Yi (Elo 2,762, ranked 8th in the world). The Chinese chess team is a major challenge for the Vietnamese team, but with their current form, Vietnamese fans are hoping Le Quang Liem and his teammates will create a miracle in Hungary. And in the early morning of September 17th (Vietnam time), Quang Liem defeated world champion Dinh Liren, a resounding achievement for Vietnamese chess, delighting fans back home.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/co-vua-viet-nam-tao-an-tuong-manh-o-olympiad-185240916201045083.htm
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