Chinese chess village declares 'revenge' on Lai Ly Huynh

The Chinese chess community is enthusiastically calling on its strongest players to make efforts to "take revenge" on Vietnamese player Lai Ly Huynh at the upcoming 2025 Asian Mind Sports Games.

Lai Ly Huynh in the victory over Doan Thang at the World Chess Championship - Photo: XQ

Two months ago, Lai Ly Huynh shocked the chess world when he won the men's singles event of the 2025 World Chinese Chess Championship, after defeating Chinese player Doan Thang in the final match.

It was the 19th time the World Xiangqi Championship was held. And the men's singles championship of the previous 18 tournaments was completely in the hands of the Chinese.

But the match-fixing scandal that broke out two years ago has wiped out the strongest grandmasters in Chinese chess. Specifically, one after another, chess kings like Wang Tianyi and Hongzhi were all hit with heavy bans from competition.

This created an opportunity for Lai Ly Huynh to make history. Doan Thang - the player considered the number one in the current young generation of China, could not compare with the stars like Vuong Thien Nhat, and was defeated by the Vietnamese player as predicted.

The Chinese chess community expressed "dissatisfaction" with this defeat. An article on the Baijiahao website commented, "Lai Li Huynh would not have been able to win the championship if Chinese chess had sent out a special grandmaster, like Wang Tianyi, Zheng Weidong or Zhao Xinxin."

Hua Yinxuan, a chess legend from the previous generation in China, was more impartial when he commented: "No one in China can confidently defeat Lai Li Huynh at this time." But at the same time, he also commented that Lai Li Huynh has not yet reached the level of China's special grandmasters.

And now, the Chinese chess village is facing a great opportunity to wash away the pain of defeat, when Lai Ly Huynh participates in the 2025 Asian Mind Sports Games.

This is the first time the Asian Mind Sports Games have been held. The Games will take place in Singapore from November 13 to November 15, with five competitions: chess, Chinese chess, Go, bridge and Rubik's cube.

Since it was the first time, China was very eager to win the chess event at this congress. China sent four players, Meng Fanrui, Yin Sheng, Wang Yubo and Wang Jiarui, to participate in the tournament.

"Reclaim the throne! Let's show the chess world that China still has many players stronger than Lai Ly Huynh," another post on Baijiahao page called. This post immediately received a lot of attention and comments.

Most Chinese fans believe that this is a difficult time for the country's chess world, when the strongest chess kings and grandmasters have not yet returned. Phan Due and Doan Thang have only received the title of "Grandmaster". They are considered one level lower than stars like Vuong Thien Nhat and Hong Tri.

However, with pride in the intellectual sport that they created and built, the Chinese chess community is very excited, eager to "take revenge" on Lai Ly Huynh.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lang-co-tuong-trung-quoc-tuyen-bo-phuc-thu-lai-ly-huynh-2025111200015793.htm