What did Le Quang Liem say when he made history at the Chess World Cup?

Vietnam's No. 1 chess player Le Quang Liem shared interesting things after making a milestone in his career when he entered the 5th round of the Chess World Cup for the first time for the 16 best players.

Le Quang Liem is ready for the clash with Alexander Donchenko

Le Quang Liem is among the few players who have qualified for the 2025 Chess World Cup 5th round after only 2 standard games without having to go into a rapid or blitz tie-break. In an interview after his victory in the 4th round against the host Indian player Venkataraman Karthik last night, Le Quang Liem said: "Karthik had better opening preparation as he entered the game quite quickly. I think I did well to balance the game. And when my opponent avoided exchanging the Queen, I was very happy because my game became better. I realized that I could push my attack to find a chance to win, but the game had a very complicated game. I was very happy to find the right moves to win."

Le Quang Liem (left) was interviewed after his victory in the fourth round of the 2025 Chess World Cup.

PHOTO: FIDE

Le Quang Liem added that having a day off before the next round is an important time to prepare and analyze the opponent. However, his opponent, Alexander Donchenko (Germany), also had a similar rest time. "I feel ready for the confrontation with Alexander Donchenko in round 5," Le Quang Liem expressed.

Vietnam's No. 1 chess player Le Quang Liem highly appreciated Alexander Donchenko when this player eliminated 2 very strong players, won a ticket to the Candidates to choose the player to play with world champion Anish Giri (Netherlands) and Matthias Bluebaum (Germany).

Le Quang Liem enjoys the joy of advancing to the 5th round of the Chess World Cup for the first time

PHOTO: FIDE

"Up to now, I think I have done well without needing any tie-breaks, just two standard games. The interesting thing is that I won all three games with black pieces and drew all three games with white pieces. So I hope I can maintain this achievement at the 2025 Chess World Cup," Le Quang Liem shared.

Sharing with international friends about Vietnamese chess, especially the future generation, Le Quang Liem said that chess has now become popular in Vietnam, from which there are many promising young talents. "However, it would be too early to affirm their future, so I think we can only follow and cheer on their journey," Le Quang Liem confided.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/le-quang-liem-noi-gi-khi-lam-nen-lich-su-lan-o-world-cup-co-vua-185251113093027694.htm