Liem, Elo rating 2694, recorded a win over Firouzja Alireza of Iran, Elo rating 2682, in the eighth match of the competition after 39 moves. The victory left him ranked in second place and allowed him to progress to the next round.

In the ninth and final match of the competition the Vietnamese chess player took on Sethuraman Panayappan for the top spot. He was able to record a straightforward win over his Indian rival after 38 moves.

This gave Quang Liem a total of seven points from nine matches and was enough for him to win the championship title in the standard event at the Asian Continental Chess Championship for the first time.

His teammate Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son won two matches and drew a further seven at the competition, finishing outside of the tournament’s top 10.

In the women’s event, the nation’s most notable performer was Pham Le Thao Nguyen who achieved six points, the highest total from the country’s representatives. Other competitors include Hoang Thi Bao Tram who finished on 5.5 points, Vo Thi Kim Phung on five points, and Pham Bich Ngoc on five points.

The tournament is set to conclude on June 16, and has seen the participation of 112 chess players from 19 countries from across the globe. VOV