Le Tuan Minh lost 7-10 to world number one Magnus Carlsen after a close game in the quarter-finals of the online blitz chess tournament.
In the quarter-final match of the winners bracket early on July 19, Tuan Minh fought Carlsen for every point. The third Vietnamese player won the first game because his opponent ran out of time, but Carlsen won the next two games to lead 2-1. After the next two games ended in a draw, Tuan Minh won the sixth game to tie the score at 3-3.
Le Tuan Minh in game 17 against Carlsen in the quarterfinals of the online super blitz chess tournament early on July 19, 2023. Photo: screenshot
It seemed like Tuan Minh had no chance after losing games 9 and 10 in a row, but he won the next two games and tied the score at 6-6. The Norwegian player took the lead again in game 13, but for the third time in the match, the Vietnamese representative tied the score at 7-7. However, in the last three games, Tuan Minh lost consecutively, as he made mistakes right from the start.
There were many games in this match where Tuan Minh was in a losing position right in the opening, at which point he smiled and shook his head. In terms of mastering opening variations, the 27-year-old player could not compare to his five-time world champion opponent like Carlsen. After the match, Tuan Minh clapped his hands to congratulate his opponent, while Carlsen appeared calm and let out a soft sigh.
The last four games of the match between Le Tuan Minh and Magnus Carlsen.
This was the smallest margin match in the winners bracket quarterfinals, as in the remaining three matches Hikaru Nakamura, Daniel Naroditsky and Alireza Firouzja all overwhelmingly defeated Jose Martinez, Andrew Tang and Oleksandr Bortnyk.
Tuan Minh still has a chance at the tournament when he falls into the loser's bracket to meet David Paravyan, at 11pm today, July 19, Hanoi time. If he wins against the Russian player, he will meet Bortnyk or Emin Ohanyan.
In the winners bracket semifinals, Nakamura is rated higher than Naroditsky, while Carlsen is expected to have an even more difficult time when he faces Firouzja. Fans are expecting a dream final between Carlsen and Nakamura - the two current top players in the world of standard chess.
The 2023 World Blitz Chess Championship is organized by the Chess platform from July 17 to July 21 in a double elimination format with 16 players, and Tuan Minh is among the invited group. Each match lasts 30 minutes, except for the semifinals, winners bracket finals, and the grand finals, which last 45 minutes. Players only have one minute for the game, with no overtime (1+0 format). The prize fund of the tournament is 100,000 USD, of which 20,000 USD is given to the champion.
Xuan Binh
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