Chess village supports Truong Son

Following his heartfelt post on his personal social media account, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son received a great deal of sympathy from fans and teammates in the Vietnamese chess team.

Le Quang Liem shows his support for his close teammate Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son - Archival photo.

Over the past two weeks, the Vietnamese chess community has been in turmoil as veteran players have repeatedly spoken out, pointing out existing problems in the management of the national team, as well as the development of the chess movement.

Support from the chess community

The situation reached its peak when Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, a chess player who has represented the national team for over 20 years, spoke out in a Facebook post on the morning of May 24th. Truong Son's post, over 1,300 words long, frankly pointed out many problems within the national chess team and shortcomings in management. And Truong Son's announcement saddened many Vietnamese fans: he would stop competing in standard chess for the Vietnamese national chess team.

The post received widespread sharing within the Vietnamese chess community. Most notably, it was shared by Vietnam's number one chess player, and close teammate of Truong Son - Le Quang Liem.

Late on May 24th, Le Quang Liem posted a touching message on his personal social media account. The 35-year-old chess player recalled the beautiful memories they shared while playing together for the Vietnamese national team, and wrote: "Liem respects Son's decision and new direction in the coming period. I believe that with his experience, skill, and love for chess, Son will continue to inspire many generations of young Vietnamese chess players, no matter what role he plays."

Not only that, Quang Liem also reposted Truong Son's post as a way of subtly showing his support for his teammate's suggestions. Luong Phuong Hanh, a top female chess player in Vietnam, also shared Truong Son's post and commented: "Son's sharing! Honestly, after many years of ups and downs, I realize that in the end, it's best to strive for honesty, transparency, and say no to negativity, even though it's sometimes difficult."

The unwavering spirit of Truong Son

Also on May 25th, Tuoi Tre newspaper contacted Truong Son to hear more about this incident. Sharing his motivation for posting the article that caused a stir in the chess community, the 36-year-old chess player said: "As someone who has been involved in chess for over 30 years, I feel I have a responsibility to speak out about the shortcomings that have existed for too long. I only hope that Vietnamese chess will have a fair competitive environment and the best conditions for athletes to develop."

The problems described in Son's post have existed for years, but in the last 10 years or so, things have gradually gotten worse. Son's thoughts of quitting the standard competition began around the beginning of 2024, and he also told his teammates at the 2024 Olympiad that this might be his last Olympiad (although he hadn't decided at that time).

Truong Son also affirmed that his decision to stop playing standard chess for the national team will not change under any circumstances.

"Son shared the shortcomings not with the intention of assigning specific blame to anyone, but simply to reflect the reality of the financial and professional difficulties faced by athletes for too long, hoping that future management mechanisms will be more flexible to support athletes," Truong Son added.

A detailed interview with Truong Son was published on Tuoi Tre Online on the afternoon of May 25th and quickly attracted the attention of tens of thousands of fans. The insightful sharing from Truong Son and Thao Nguyen, as well as the support from Le Quang Liem and Luong Phuong Hanh, revealed several issues existing within the top-level chess community.

Truong Son withdraws from the standard chess event in the Vietnamese national chess team - Photo: FB NNTS

Truong Son's future plans

Speaking to Tuoi Tre newspaper , chess players Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and his wife Pham Le Thao Nguyen shared quite a bit about their future plans. Specifically, Truong Son said he will participate in more online tournaments, including the Freestyle/Fischer Random Chess genre – a new and exciting trend in the chess world. Participating in online tournaments also suits his financial situation.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lang-co-vua-ung-ho-truong-son-2026052609165178.htm