Vietnamese players lead in five rounds of World Chess Champs' qualifiers
Xinhua, March 12, 2015 Adjust font size:
Vietnamese Grandmasters Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son defeated their rivals in the fifth round to top the men's side in the ongoing Zone 3.3 qualifying round of the World Chess Championships 2015 here.
Top seed Liem beat GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore to take lead with 4.5 points, while Son beat his teammate FIDE Master Le Tuan Minh to rank second with 4.5 points.
Third place is currently held by International Master Wynn Zaw Htun of Myanmar, who beat GM Sadorra Julio Catalino of the Philippines to claim four points. Htun will face GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore in the next round.
In the women's event, Vietnamese IM Pham Le Thao Nguyen maintained her lead with 4.5 points after drawing with top seed Munguntuul Batkhuyag of Mongolia in the fifth round. Batkhuyag currently ranked second with four points.
The Zone 3.3 qualifying round of the World Chess Championships 2015 is held here from March 7 to 15, with participation of 44 male and 20 female players coming from seven countries in the region. Players each will compete in nine sets upon Swiss system, of whom two male winners and one female winner will enter the finals of the world champs. Endi