>>> Vietnamese chess players off to winning start at Dubai Open 2019
The former world champion scored 7.5 points after nine matches. His result was on par with winner Mchedlishvili Mikheil of Georgia but Mikheil took the trophy after a tiebreak.
The Vietnamese No 1 player pocketed 17 points for his ELO rating and US$800.
Players will back to the standard tournament after one day off following the blitz.
Liem is currently in eighth place after six matches. He will play Malaysian Yeoh Li Tian in the next round.