Bang Gia Huy has his first match at the 2025 Chess World Cup - Photo: screenshot
The 2025 Chess World Cup officially kicked off in Goa, India with a total prize fund of 2 million USD. Vietnam is represented by two representatives: number 1 player Le Quang Liem and young player Bang Gia Huy. While Liem went straight to round 2, Bang Gia Huy will have to face a big challenge in round 1.
At 4:30 p.m. (Vietnam time), Bang Gia Huy (Elo 2,440) will have his first match in the world's largest individual playground. He will play white against grandmaster Daniel Dardha (Elo 2,605) of Belgium.
This is the first time the 16-year-old Vietnamese player - who won the national championship in 2024 when he was just 15 - has competed in a World Cup-level individual tournament.
Currently, despite his declining form and falling out of the world's Top 100, Belgian Grandmaster Daniel Dardha is still a highly regarded opponent with an outstanding Elo. This 20-year-old player once reached a peak Elo of 2,665 and was ranked 58th in the world.
If he passes the Dardha challenge, Gia Huy will continue to face Russian grandmaster Grigoriy Oparin (Elo 2,661) in round 2.
Meanwhile, Le Quang Liem (Elo 2,729) was given a special pass to the second round. Le Quang Liem will have his first match on November 4, waiting for the result of the match between Jose Gabriel Cardoso (2,518) and Baadur Jobava (2,573) to know his opponent. With his current position, Liem is the biggest hope of Vietnamese chess at the tournament.
The Chess World Cup is a knockout tournament held every two years, featuring 206 players. The tournament runs from November 1 to November 27 in Goa, India, with a total prize pool of $2 million (the champion receives $120,000).
More importantly, the 2025 World Cup will select three places to participate in the 2026 Candidates Tournament - the tournament that will decide the challenger to the chess throne.
Some of the world's top grandmasters such as defending champion Magnus Carlsen, along with Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana, were absent because they had or were almost certain to qualify for the Candidates.
Each match will last for a maximum of three days, consisting of two standard games. In the event of a draw, the players will play a rapid and blitz tie-break on the third day to determine the winner.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dai-dien-viet-nam-xuat-tran-tai-world-cup-co-vua-2025-20251101075330526.htm
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