Top chess players Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Le Quang Liem will compete in the National Premier Chess Championship next week, the Vietnam Chess Federation said.

The championship, a curtain-raiser for a series of tournaments this year, expects to see tough competition between the two top players and Grand Master Cao Sang, who has returned from Hungary after many years away.

Liem, 19, had a good start this year when he won two titles: the Moscow Chess Open and the Aeroflot Open last month.

Last year, Son and Liem did not compete at the national championships, which saw Bui Vinh stand on the victory podium./.