Le Quang Liem draws with German player in round 5 of 2025 Chess World Cup

(Dan Tri) - On the evening of November 14, Vietnam's number one chess player Le Quang Liem drew with German opponent Alexander Donchenko in round 5 of the 2025 Chess World Cup in India.

Entering the match, with the advantage of holding the white pieces, Donchenko proactively launched an attack, but Le Quang Liem holding the black pieces played slowly, steadily, and accurately, causing the game after 31 moves to end in a draw.

The two players will play again in the second leg tomorrow (November 15). The winner will advance to the quarter-finals. If the match continues to draw, it will have to be decided by a rapid and blitz tie-break.

Le Quang Liem drew with Alexander Donchenko in the match on the evening of November 14 (Photo: Chess24).

Previously on November 12, Le Quang Liem made history for Vietnamese chess when he entered the 5th round of the World Cup for the first time after winning against the reigning Indian champion Venkataraman Karthik. In the first leg, Le Quang Liem held the white pieces and tied with Karthik, but in the second leg with the black pieces, he played explosively and won convincingly after 68 moves, winning 1.5-0.5 overall.

This achievement helped him become the first Vietnamese player to enter the group of 16 strongest players in the world at this tournament, and also receive at least 25,000 USD in prize money.

The 2025 Chess World Cup will feature 206 players with a total prize pool of $2 million. Le Quang Liem’s previous best World Cup results were reaching the fourth round in 2013 and 2019.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/le-quang-liem-hoa-ky-thu-nguoi-duc-o-vong-5-world-cup-co-vua-2025-20251114214751044.htm