Le Quang Liem holds experienced opponent to a draw at the Chess World Cup

Vietnam's No. 1 chess player Le Quang Liem started the 2025 Chess World Cup in India with a draw against experienced player Baadur Jobava (Georgia).

Le Quang Liem entered the game cautiously.

As the 13th seed, Le Quang Liem (elo 2,729) was exempted from the first round of the 2025 Chess World Cup. He played in the second round, facing 42-year-old player Baadur Jobava (Georgia, elo 2,573).

Although having a lower ranking and elo than Le Quang Liem, Baadur Jobava is very formidable as he has defeated Vietnam's number 1 player twice in previous encounters. The first time was at the ACP Golden Classic in the Netherlands in 2012 and the most recent time was at the Grenke Freestyle Chess Open 2025 international chess tournament in Germany in April.

Le Quang Liem (left) and coach Lam Minh Chau arrive at the 2025 Chess World Cup competition venue in India

PHOTO: FIDE

Holding the black pieces (going later) when facing each other in the first round of standard chess, Le Quang Liem proactively deployed a solid chess position. Baadur Jobava, with the advantage of holding the white pieces (going first), tried to find an attack route, waiting for his opponent to make a mistake. However, Le Quang Liem controlled the game, so Baadur Jobava accepted a draw after 31 moves of intelligence despite having the advantage in time.

Tomorrow (November 5), Le Quang Liem and Baadur Jobava will compete in the second round of standard chess. In this round, the number 1 Vietnamese player has the advantage of holding the white pieces (going first) but will likely play cautiously because each mistake will be at risk of being paid dearly. If he wins against Baadur Jobava, Quang Liem will advance to round 3. If they draw, the two players will enter the third day of competition with rapid chess and blitz chess to determine the winner.

Le Quang Liem draws on the opening day of the 2025 Chess World Cup

PHOTO: FIDE

The 2025 Chess World Cup has 206 players competing in a knockout format. The total prize money is up to 2 million USD (about 52 billion VND), of which the champion receives 120,000 USD (more than 3 billion VND). If stopping in the second round, Le Quang Liem will receive 7,000 USD (about 180 million VND) and if entering the third round, he will definitely receive 11,000 USD (about 280 million VND). The tournament is held every two years, attracting players with high rankings on the world rankings, players who passed the selection rounds from the continents and some special players.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/le-quang-liem-cam-hoa-doi-thu-giau-kinh-nghiem-o-world-cup-co-vua-1852511042002019.htm