Liem seeded second at Fujairah chess tournament

November 16, 2012 | 09:04

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Vietnam’s top chess player, Le Quang Liem, is seeded second in the Masters tournament at the ongoing Fujairah International Chess Championship 2012 in the United Arab Emirates from November 13 to 21.

Top Vietnamese chess player Le Quang Liem

The nine-day event is host to 60 strong grandmasters, rated 2,200 or above, battling for a share of the $50,000 prize fund in the Masters category, while lower ranked players are competing in the Open section for a share in the smaller pot of $4,600.

Liem (Elo 2705), placed 41st in the latest FIDE rankings, got off to a good start at this year’s tournament, easily beating Indian rival Bakre Tejas (Elo 2481) in the opening match on Wednesday.

In his second game earlier this morning, Liem, however, suffered a surprising loss to a lower rated Ukrainian, Andrey Sumets (Elo 2622), pushing him to 23rd place with just one point claimed in the temporary standings.

Liem will have a good opportunity to improve his position tomorrow, playing his third game against a lower ranked opponent from India, Das Debashis (Elo 2451).

The Fujairah competition is being played in nine rounds according to the Swiss System, with one point awarded for a win, 0.5 point for a draw and zero point for a loss.

Nhan Dan

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