Le Quang Liem 's ​​opponent (elo 2,729) in round 5 of the 2025 Chess World Cup has an elo coefficient of 2641, ranked 82nd in the world standard chess. In the most recent encounter at the Biel Chess Festival 2024 in the Netherlands, Alexander Donchenko drew with Le Quang Liem. Alexander Donchenko's performance in the 2025 Chess World Cup is very good, winning all 4 matches in standard chess.

With the advantage of holding the white pieces (going first), Alexander Donchenko took the initiative to attack Le Quang Liem. The proactive play once helped the German player defeat the 4th seed Anish Giri (Netherlands), but this time it was a "stubborn" Le Quang Liem.

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Le Quang Liem shares points with his opponent despite being in charge

Vietnam's number 1 player held the black pieces so he played cautiously in every move. Quang Liem made very smart moves that prevented his opponent from taking advantage. After 31 moves, the two players accepted a draw.

With this result, Le Quang Liem and Alexander Donchenko will play again in the return match on November 15. If both sides continue to draw, they will have to decide each other by tie-break in rapid chess and blitz chess. The winner will advance to the quarter-finals.

The 2025 World Cup for men will feature 206 players, with a total prize pool of up to 2 million USD. Le Quang Liem officially qualified for the tournament as he was among the top 20 players on the FIDE rankings.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/le-quang-liem-chia-diem-voi-ky-thu-duc-o-world-cup-co-vua-2462879.html