Chess master Phung wins bronze at Asian championship

Vo Thi Kim Phung of Vietnam won a bronze medal from the Asian Continental Chess championship which closed on November 3 in India.
WGM Vo Thi Kim Phung seen at the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam in May. She pockets a bronze medal from the Asian Continental Chess Championship in New Delhi, India. Photo sggp.org.vn
WGM Vo Thi Kim Phung seen at the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam in May. She pockets a bronze medal from the Asian Continental Chess Championship in New Delhi, India. Photo sggp.org.vn

After 11 days of competition, Women Grandmaster (WGM) Phung finished third in the women's blitz chess event with seven points from nine matches.

Phung struggled with one loss and two draws in the first three matches. But she came back strongly with six wins in a row and grabbed her bronze medal.

WGM Divya Deshmukh and WGM Gomes Mary Ann, both of the hosts, ranked first and second, respectively.

In the standard event, Phung came in fourth position with 6.5 points.

The top three were all from India - WGM Pallathur Venkatachalam Nandhidhaa, WGM Priyanka Nutakki and Deshmukh.

The championship saw 140 players from 13 countries. Vietnam sent three female competitors - Nguyen Thanh Thuy Tien, Nguyen Thi Mai Hung and Phung - and one male player, Dang Vu Dung.

Tien, Hung and Dung did not reach their best performance in this competition, ranking out of the top five in all two categories.

VNA