Vietnam’s “secret weapon”, Le Quang Liem, took the entire world chess community by surprise after defeating Ukraine’s pride, Ruslan Ponomariov, at the Sparkassen Chess Meeting annual tournament in Dortmund, Germany last week. As Ponomariov is known as the world champion in 2002-04 and ranking no 14 in the world, being beaten by the 19-year old Vietnamese made Liem a new sensation. It was in the fourth round of Sunday’s six-man tournament where Liem’s chess prowess became clear to the millions of fans who were closely following the competition.

Known as one of the world’s major chess tournaments (along with Corus, Sofia and Linares), the Sparkassen Chess Meeting is considered an elite chess competition held every summer in Dortmund, Germany. This is one of the most prestigious chess affairs for the year. Being an invite-only, only the strongest grandmasters have the opportunity to play. Liem was the first Vietnamese to be invited to the event, proving his credentials in the world class category.

Long Journey

The young Vietnamese fought his way to the participation by winning the Aeroflot Open in Moscow in February of this year.

Born in Ho Chi Minh City on March 13, 1991, Liem learned chess at the age of 7. He earned his FIDE Master title in 2003, and both his International Master and Grandmaster titles in 2006. Consistently scoring well in international youth championships, he placed second in the World Youth Championship (U12) in Halkidiki, Greece in 2003, and then won the Under-16 Asian Championship in July 2004 in Iran, the Asian Youth Open U14 in December 2004, and the Under-14 World Youth Chess Championship staged in Belfort, France in July 2005.

His results in subsequent international tournaments have also been consistent in the 3rd Singapore Masters International Open Tournament, in the Aeroflot Open 2007, and in the 2007 Vietnam Chess Championship. In May 2008, he tied for first in the 2nd Philippine International Open, in August/September 2008, he won the 1st Dragon Capital Vietnam Chess Open. In October of 2008, Liem came in half a point behind the 5 joint winners of the World Youth Chess Championships Open 18 held in Vung Tau, Vietnam. In 2009, he won the 2nd Vietnam Dragon Capital Chess Open with 8/9 and the 4th Kalkota Open Grandmaster Chess Tournament with 8/10. He also placed equal third in the 8th Asian Continental Individual Open Championship.

He celebrated many successes as a teenager, and is widely recognized as a huge talent in the entire Asia. In February 2010, Liem tied for first in the Moscow Open, after which, he won the 9th Aerofloat Open with 7/9 and a 2872 performance rating. That earned him an invitation to Dormunt this year.

Though his achievements may not be as grand compared to his rivals who have earned world and international titles, Liem is confident on how he will face his matches. He reviews his games and lessons by himself while his rivals are assisted by powerful and experienced coaches and experts. The young chessmaster flew to Germany along with his mother. For Liem, her moral support and home cooking is enough to complement his self-reviews.


With a July 2010 FIDE rating of 2681, he is currently Vietnam's strongest Grandmaster, number 5 in Asia and now places number 42 in the world rankings.

Bracing for the Biggest Challenge

The Sparkassen Chess tournament is usually played in a round-robin or double round-robin system. This year, the tournament is played on a double-round robin, meaning each competitor plays all the others twice - once with each color. Liem's match against former world champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and German contender Arkadij Naiditsch on July 16 both headed to a draw. Considered the lowest-ranked participant in the event, the games attracted Liem huge attention from organizers and spectators alike, placing him in the limelight of the world chess community.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan beat Liem in the third round on Saturday, but Sunday's victory against Ponomariov was a strong push for the young Vietnamese, who now ranks third with two points, ahead of Kramnik (Russia), Naiditsch (Germany) and Leko (Hungary), who are tied for last with 1.5 points each. Mamedyarov leads with three points, followed by Ponomariov on 2.5 points.

On the following round, Ponomariov won after wearing down the defenses of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov while Kramnik successfully beat Naiditsch. Liem won against Leko. Games on Wednesday (July 21) headed for two draws between Liem and Kramnik, the other between Leko and Ponomariov.

Thursday told a different tale. After losing in Rounds 5 and 6, Mamedyarov won in Round 7 pull him to a tie for second place with Liem. On Friday, Ponomariov beat Naiditsch and now has 5.5 points after the entire eight rounds, a full point ahead of Liem and Mamadyarov. The six world super chess grandmasters will be competing in two-leg format for the final round on Sunday. With different opinions on who is within sight of winning the elite tournament, the entire chess community across the globe is watching closely for this year’s world exciting chess games - - - and surprises.