Le Quang Liem has a wide open door to advance in the Chess World Cup

The flag goes to Le Quang Liem

The 2025 Chess World Cup witnessed consecutive surprises when a series of seeded players were eliminated early. After 3 rounds, top names such as reigning world champion Gukesh (India), Anish Giri (Netherlands, world No. 5), So Wesley (USA, world No. 8) ... all stopped.

In Le Quang Liem's bracket, tough opponents such as Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia, world No. 19), Aravindh (India, world No. 28) also stopped. Before the semi-finals, Vietnam's No. 1 chess player will only face opponents with lower elo, so coaches believe that if he maintains his form, Le Quang Liem will qualify for the semi-finals. Experts and Vietnamese chess fans also have higher expectations for Le Quang Liem's ability to be in the top 3 at this World Cup, thereby winning a place to participate in Candidates 2026 - a tournament to select players to challenge the reigning world champion to become the new chess king. If successful, this will also be another notable first milestone for Vietnam's No. 1 chess player.

Lê Quang Liêm rộng cửa tiến sâu ở World Cup cờ vua- Ảnh 1. — Vietnam's No. 1 chess player Le Quang Liem *(right)* promises to make history at the 2025 Chess World Cup

Be careful in every game

Although Le Quang Liem has a wide open door to advance in the prestigious World Chess Cup, he is still very cautious, aiming to do his best in each match. In round 4, Le Quang Liem (elo 2,729) faced the home Indian player Karthik, who has a lower elo (2,579). However, Karthik is the reigning Indian chess champion and is in good form. With the advantage of having 1 more day off than his opponent, Le Quang Liem has more time to study and choose the optimal playing style to defeat the home player.

If he defeats Karthik, Le Quang Liem will make history by entering the 5th round of the 16 best players at the World Chess Cup for the first time, receiving at least 25,000 USD (about 650 million VND) in prize money.

In the previous rounds, Le Quang Liem defeated his opponents after only 2 standard games without needing to go to the tie-break of rapid chess or blitz chess. However, in the 4th round, when the level of competition is higher and the opponents are stronger, the battle of wits will become more intense. However, if he has to go to the tie-break of rapid chess or blitz chess, Le Quang Liem is not too worried because that is his forte when he was the world champion in blitz chess in 2013.

The 2025 Chess World Cup will last for nearly a month (from November 1 to 27), so in addition to competing, Le Quang Liem also focuses on eating and resting to ensure his health and spirit. Accompanying the 34-year-old player at the tournament is veteran coach Lam Minh Chau, who has been with Le Quang Liem for a long time.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/le-quang-liem-rong-cua-tien-sau-o-world-cup-co-vua-185251111221343499.htm