Chess star Le Quang Liem claims silver in IMSA Mind Games Rapid

Vietnamese Grandmaster Le Quang Liem has produced a second-place finish in the rapid chess tournament at the ongoing IMSA Mind Games 2019 in China.

Le Quang Liem maintains stable form in the rapid chess event.
Le Quang Liem maintains stable form in the rapid chess event.

>>> Quang Liem unbeaten after first four Rapid games at IMSA Mind Games

After the first eight rounds, No. 10 seed Liem (Elo 2706) scored five points following two wins and six draws, 1.5 points behind the leader, No. 4 seed Korobov Anton (Ukraine, Elo 2756), and half a point clear of No. 5 seed Domiguez Perez Leinier (US, Elo 2752) in third.

Both Liem and Leinier achieved victory in their ninth games, but the US competitor rose to be level on 6.5 points with the Vietnamese star thanks to his 10th-game triumph equalise, while Liem only managed a draw.

Despite playing white in the decisive game on May 16, Liem was held to a draw by Andreikin (Russia, Elo 2759). Meanwhile, Domiguez Perez Leinier was also forced to share points with Rapport Richard (Ukraine, Elo 2739), which meant Liem grabbed the overall silver medal with his better auxiliaries.

A second-place finish in the Mind Games has helped the Vietnamese chess ace to accumulate 30.4 additional rapid chess Elo points.

Korobov Anton was crowned the champion with 8.5 points, thus gaining 47.8 additional rapid Elo points.

The players will play 22 blitz chess games on May 17-18.

The IMSA Mind Games 2019 are taking place in Hengshui, China, from May 14 to 18, with competitions in bridge, chess, draughts, Go, and Xiangqi (Chinese chess). In chess, 16 players are competing in separate open and women’s sections in the Rapid and Blitz events. Le Quang Liem is the only Vietnamese representative in this year’s tournament.