Le Quang Liem sets historic milestone for Vietnamese chess

Grandmaster Le Quang Liem has brought his 2025 Chess World Cup journey to an emotional close. He left the tournament after setting a historic milestone for his country's chess.

Grandmaster Le Quang Liem is the pride of Vietnamese chess - Photo: chessbase India

Grandmaster Le Quang Liem stopped at round 5 (round of 16) after losing to German Grandmaster Alexander Donchenko. The final blitz chess game ended with a moment of genius from his opponent.

Donchenko's beautiful queen's kill

In the final game, the key to Le Quang Liem's ​​defeat lay in the precise calculations and sophisticated traps that Donchenko set.

After his opponent moved Qg4, Le Quang Liem moved his rook to g8 to prevent a checkmate on g7, Donchenko did not hesitate to deliver the finishing blow.

Donchenko (white) with the move Qg7 decided the game - Photo: screenshot

The German player made a beautiful queen sacrifice with Qg7, forcing Liem to take the queen. Donchenko then captured the Vietnamese player's rook and queen as planned.

The move Qg7 from Donchenko (white) is considered a genius move - Photo: screenshot

With a clear advantage of one car in the endgame, Donchenko was sure of victory, officially deciding the match and gaining the right to continue, even though Le Quang Liem tried to regain the game after a few moves.

After the black rook is forced to capture the queen, white captures the pawn to make check, then moves the knight to square f6 to capture the queen - Photo: screenshot

With a clear advantage of one rook in the endgame, Donchenko did not make any more mistakes. He decided the match and won the right to continue, despite Quang Liem's ​​desperate efforts.

For the first time in the history of Vietnamese chess

Despite having to stop, the achievement of reaching the 5th round (Top 16) of the 2025 Chess World Cup is an undeniable milestone. This is the first time a Vietnamese chess player has advanced this far in a World Cup.

Le Quang Liem's ​​performance spanned across standard, rapid and blitz chess formats. It showcased Quang Liem's ​​resilience, talent and fighting spirit.

Le Quang Liem has brought pride and affirmed the position of Vietnamese chess on the international map. He left the tournament and left a deep impression of a strong, determined and resilient player.

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/le-quang-liem-lap-cot-moc-lich-su-cho-co-vua-viet-nam-20251117003938708.htm