Le Quang Liem defeats China's "Chess King" at the 2024 Olympiad.

After winning five consecutive games, the Vietnamese men's chess team continued to surprise by drawing with China in the sixth game, which took place early this morning (September 17).

Notably, world number 14 Le Quang Liem caused a shock by defeating the reigning world champion, Chinese player Ding Liren, to help Vietnam climb to second place in the Chess Olympiad.

Le Quang Liem defeated Ding Liren after a tense five-hour match (Photo: FIDE).

This marks the first time in history that a Vietnamese player has defeated the reigning world champion in standard chess. In a must-win game to prevent his team from losing against China, Quang Liem (elo 2741) defeated Ding Liren (elo 2736), dubbed the "King of Chinese Chess," after 62 moves.

In the three remaining games that finished earlier, the match between Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (elo 2.633) and Wei Yi (elo 2.762) ended in a quick draw after 15 moves. Tran Tuan Minh (elo 2.434) lost to Wang Yue (elo 2.637), and Le Tuan Minh (elo 2.564) drew with Yu Yangyi (elo 2.703).

Therefore, Quang Liem's ​​victory not only helped Vietnamese chess maintain its unbeaten streak but also helped him climb the world rankings. While Ding Liren plummeted to 22nd in the world, Le Quang Liem achieved his highest Elo rating of 2,749 and rose to 12th in the world.

After 6 rounds at the 2024 Olympiad, the Indian team dominated the top spot with 6 wins out of 6 matches. The Vietnamese team, along with China and Iran, had 5 wins and 1 draw each, but with a better tie-breaking score, Le Quang Liem and his teammates ranked second, while China ranked third and Iran ranked fourth.

The Vietnamese men's chess team continues to excel at the Olympiad (Photo: FIDE).

At the same time as the Vietnamese men's chess team, the women's team suffered a 1.5-2.5 defeat against the sixth seed Azerbaijan. Bach Ngoc Thuy Duong (elo 2214) drew with Khanim Balajayeva (elo 2384), while Vo Thi Kim Phung (elo 2320) and Luong Phuong Hanh (elo 2225) lost to Ulviyya Fataliyeva (elo 2378) and Govhar Beydullayeva (elo 2395) respectively. In the final round, Pham Le Thao Nguyen (elo 2380) won against Gunay Mammadzada (elo 2433).

Today, September 17th, the tournament will have its only day off before the final five rounds. Round 7 begins at 8:00 PM on September 18th (Vietnam time) with the men's team facing the 10th seed Iran, while the women's team will play against the Czech Republic.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/le-quang-liem-danh-bai-vua-co-trung-quoc-o-olympiad-2024-20240917071337316.htm