Vietnamese chess players off to winning start at Dubai Open 2019

Vietnam’s no. 1 chess player Le Quang Liem and his junior compatriot Nguyen Anh Khoi delivered a perfect start to their 2019 Dubai Open campaign in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as they both won their opening games against lower-rated opponents early on April 2.

Vietnam's no. 1 chess player Le Quang Liem
Vietnam's no. 1 chess player Le Quang Liem

Top seed Quang Liem (Elo 2711) didn’t break a sweat to beat Serbian Tijana Blagojevic, who is nearly 500 Elo points behind, after just 28 moves.

Anh Khoi (Elo 2484) faced an easy challenge against Prathssarathy. R of India (Elo 1989), but he unexpectedly needed 50 moves to snatch the victory.

The triumphs fired the two Vietnamese stars into the leading group after the first round with one point each.

In the second round, Quang Liem will play white against Norwegian Haug Johames (Elo 2424), while Anh Khoi faces Indian Jeet Jain (Elo 2219).

The 2019 Dubai Open is taking place from April 1 to 9, bringing together 150 players from 36 countries and territories, playing according to the nine-round Swiss system. The tournament offers US$50,000 up for grabs, with the overall champion receiving US$13,000.

Vietnam’s Quang Liem has been promoted to the top seed after China’s Wang Hao (Elo 2726) decided to withdraw from the competition at the last minute.