Chess World Cup Tie-break: Waiting for Le Quang Liem's historic rapid chess match

Le Quang Liem will enter the tie-break series of the 2025 Chess World Cup for the first time - Photo: FIDE

If compared on the World Chess Federation (FIDE) rankings, Grandmaster Le Quang Liem currently has a higher Elo rating in all three chess categories than player Alexander Donchenko.

However, as shown by two standard games, Elo difference does not guarantee a win.
Grandmaster Donchenko has proven himself to be a formidable opponent, having previously defeated many big names such as Anish Giri and Matthias Bluebaum. And in round 5, the German player has caused a lot of difficulties for the Vietnamese representative.

However, after overcoming the life-and-death moment and holding a draw in the "life-or-death" situation in the second game, the psychological advantage is clearly leaning towards Le Quang Liem.

Chess player Alexander Donchenko was stunned after a fatal mistake - Photo: FIDE

The 34-year-old chess player's experience at the highest level and extraordinary courage are a solid foundation. With the familiar saying "Near death often leads to long life", Vietnamese fans have every right to expect Le Quang Liem to demonstrate his class and courage in rapid and blitz chess to win, continuing to write history for Vietnamese chess at this prestigious tournament.

Regarding past confrontations, the two players have only met once in Moscow (Russia), and Le Quang Liem (playing black) won against the young German talent at that time.

The tie-break series will begin at 4:30 p.m. (Vietnam time) on November 16, with a gradual elimination process through each round:

Round 1 (rapid chess): Two games of 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move (15+10 seconds).

Round 2: If still tied, continue with two games of 10 minutes + 10 seconds.

Round 3: If still tied, continue with two games of 5 minutes + 3 seconds.

Round 4: If still tied, continue with two games of 3 minutes + 2 seconds.

Final Round (Armageddon): If the winner is still undecided, the match is decided by a single game of Armageddon. White will have 4 minutes plus 2 seconds, while Black will have an agreed time limit (also plus 2 seconds). The player with the lower time limit will take the black pieces. If both players have the same time limit, lots will decide the color of the pieces.

Black wins the game if the score ends in a draw.

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tie-break-world-cup-co-vua-cho-tran-co-nhanh-lich-su-cua-le-quang-liem-20251116084744599.htm