Vietnam’s teams tie with strong rivals at Chess Olympiad in Georgia

Vietnam's chess team at the chess Olympiad (Photo: FIDE)

Hanoi,  (VNA) - Vietnam’s teams played to draws against strong rivals in the 10th round of the ongoing 2018 Chess Olympiad in Batumi,  Georgia, on October 4.

Vietnam’s male team, with an average Elo rating of 2576, tied with Germany (Elo 2628).

Playing with the white pieces, Grandmaster Le Quang Liem drew with Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter on board one after 52 moves.

On board two, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son played to a draw with George Meier after just 28 moves.

Tran Tuan Minh and 16-year-old Nguyen Anh Khoi tied with Bluebaum Matthias and Fridman Daniel respectively.

With five wins, four draws and one loss, the team is in 13th place out of 185 teams in the world. They will face the Philippines in the last round. With a win, Vietnam is likely to rank in the top 10.

On the women’s side, Vietnam has an average Elo of 2321. The team tied with Hungary, which has a higher rating of 2344.

Vo Thi Kim Phung was defeated by Vietnamese Hungarian Hoang Thanh Trang. Meanwhile Pham Le Thao Nguyen – Son’s wife – beat Gara Anita after 55 moves despite taking the black pawns.

Nguyen Thi Mai Hung and Bach Ngoc Thuy Duong also tied with their rivals.

Vietnam will next face Azerbaijan (Elo 2369). If they win, they will also finish the prestigious event in top 10.-VNA