Le Quang Liem took second place at the Sparkassen Chess Meeting which wrapped up on July 25 in Dortmund , Germany.
In the 10th and final round that took place on July 25, the world No 55 Liem drew against world number 16, Ukraine 's Ruslan Ponomariov.
With two wins, seven draws and one loss, taking 5.5 points, Liem finished runner-up to the winner Ponomariov who showed panache and patience, making the most of his opportunities, with a total of 6.5 points.
Ponomariov's task could have been far simpler. As White, playing his nearest rival, his task was to neutralise the game and safely secure a draw. By doing so he would have finished first and secure with what has been a near perfect tournament; a competition he has led almost continuously since the very first round. His young Vietnamese opponent, however, had other plans and seemed close to winning at one point.
According to experts, the second place finish by 19-year-old Liem, in his first appearance in a Super GM tournament, was a fantastic result. He showed that he is perfectly able to compete with the top players, and will undoubtedly be a regular guest at such events.
Among the six players at Dortmund , Liem had the lowest Elo rating of 2681, the highest Elo rating was Vladimir Kramnik of Russia with 2790.
The last round of Dortmund was not without excitement, as Ponomariov came very close to losing his game against Liem, with the two other games ending with decisive results.
Kramnik defeated Shak. Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan in their final-round encounter to grab third place with five points, while Peter Leko of Hungary defeated Arkadij Naiditsch of the hosts Germany
The 38th edition of the Dortmund chess festival took place on July 15-25.
With Kramnik, Mamedyarov, Ponomariov, Leko, Naiditsch and Liem the tournament boasts an average Elo rating of 2734. As last year (and just like the Kings Tournament in Bazna in June) the tournament was a six-player, double round-robin and is one of the strongest tournaments worldwide to be held this year./.
In the 10th and final round that took place on July 25, the world No 55 Liem drew against world number 16, Ukraine 's Ruslan Ponomariov.
With two wins, seven draws and one loss, taking 5.5 points, Liem finished runner-up to the winner Ponomariov who showed panache and patience, making the most of his opportunities, with a total of 6.5 points.
Ponomariov's task could have been far simpler. As White, playing his nearest rival, his task was to neutralise the game and safely secure a draw. By doing so he would have finished first and secure with what has been a near perfect tournament; a competition he has led almost continuously since the very first round. His young Vietnamese opponent, however, had other plans and seemed close to winning at one point.
According to experts, the second place finish by 19-year-old Liem, in his first appearance in a Super GM tournament, was a fantastic result. He showed that he is perfectly able to compete with the top players, and will undoubtedly be a regular guest at such events.
Among the six players at Dortmund , Liem had the lowest Elo rating of 2681, the highest Elo rating was Vladimir Kramnik of Russia with 2790.
The last round of Dortmund was not without excitement, as Ponomariov came very close to losing his game against Liem, with the two other games ending with decisive results.
Kramnik defeated Shak. Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan in their final-round encounter to grab third place with five points, while Peter Leko of Hungary defeated Arkadij Naiditsch of the hosts Germany
The 38th edition of the Dortmund chess festival took place on July 15-25.
With Kramnik, Mamedyarov, Ponomariov, Leko, Naiditsch and Liem the tournament boasts an average Elo rating of 2734. As last year (and just like the Kings Tournament in Bazna in June) the tournament was a six-player, double round-robin and is one of the strongest tournaments worldwide to be held this year./.
