Grandmaster Le Quang Liem: The journey to break limits at the Chess World Cup

Before round 5, Tuoi Tre Online readers are invited to review Le Quang Liem's ​​entire World Cup chess journey so far and analyze the upcoming opponent of Vietnam's number 1 chess player.

Le Quang Liem breaks his own personal record at the 2025 Chess World Cup - Photo: chessbase India

Le Quang Liem's ​​spectacular victory over Indian chess player Karthik Venkataraman at the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 on the evening of November 12 was not only a personal victory but also a historic feat for Vietnamese chess.

Grandmaster Le Quang Liem has officially surpassed his own limits and those of the entire country's chess scene in the most fierce arena on the planet.

Go beyond your limits

In the history of participating in the World Chess Cup, the best achievement that Vietnamese chess has achieved before the 2025 tournament is round 4. And the person who set this milestone is none other than Le Quang Liem.

Before the 2025 Chess World Cup, Le Quang Liem came very close to round 5 twice, but had to stop regretfully both times.

The first was in 2013. Liem reached the fourth round, but lost to a very strong opponent, former world runner-up Peter Svidler.

Le Quang Liem was the last Asian player to leave the tournament in the fourth round. And the way Quang Liem left the tournament made the world's top players such as Francisco Vallejo Pons, Alexander Grischuk and Peter Svidler himself admire him.

Then in 2019, Liem once again advanced to the 4th round and his opponent at that time was another top name in the chess world, Levon Aronian - a player who had a highest ranking of 2nd in the world. At that time, the surprise still could not happen for Le Quang Liem and Vietnamese chess.

Le Quang Liem (left) could not cause a surprise against defending champion Levon Aronian in 2019 - Photo: FIDE

Now, the victory over Karthik Venkataraman at the 2025 World Cup not only brought Le Quang Liem into the round of 16, but also helped the 34-year-old player break his personal record and set the all-time best result for Vietnamese chess at this tournament.

Passing the 4th round has proven the remarkable transformation and steely mettle of Vietnam's No. 1 Grandmaster. Along with that, it has brought Vietnamese chess to a new height on the world chess map.

Opponents in the round of 16

After the competition on November 12, Le Quang Liem's ​​opponent in the round of 16 (round 5) was also revealed. That was German grandmaster Alexander Donchenko, who had excellently defeated his compatriot in standard chess, just like Liem had just done.

Alexander Donchenko (Elo 2,641), a German-Russian Grandmaster born in 1998, is a talented player and is on the rise. He is currently one of the top players in German chess and is considered a very "tough" opponent for Le Quang Liem.

Alexander Donchenko (left) is one of the interesting unknowns at the 2025 Chess World Cup - Photo: chessbase India

The 27-year-old made a strong impression when he created one of the biggest shocks at this Chess World Cup when he defeated Grandmaster Anish Giri (Elo 2,759, Dutch player in the world's top 10) with a score of 1.5-0.5. This was a knockout victory for a superstar, confirming his form and danger at the tournament.

With a peak Elo rating of 2,684 (August 2023), Donchenko is a player with a solid, diverse playing style and is recognized as one of the most pleasant surprises of the tournament.

Liem is facing the biggest opportunity of his career to compete for a place in Candidates 2026 (the tournament to choose the challenger for the Chess King title) if he can make it into the top 3 of this year's World Cup.

Le Quang Liem and his opponent in the round of 16, Grandmaster Alexander Donchenko (Germany), will have a day off to prepare before entering the first leg of the round of 16 on November 14, at 4:30 p.m.

TUAN LONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dai-kien-tuong-le-quang-liem-hanh-trinh-pha-vo-gioi-han-o-world-cup-co-vua-20251113101408537.htm