Pham Thi Thao Nguyen. — Photo sggp.org.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam's female chess players will participate in the 41st World Chess Olympiad which will commence in Oslo, Norway, on Saturday.

The five-member team, with coach Le Hong Duc, are among the top 20 teams at the two-week-long competition, in which 138 teams are competing.

Most of the top-ranked female chess masters will reportedly participate, including reigning world champion Hou Yifan of China, six of the top 10 players and three former champions.

Viet Nam's male chess players will also compete in the Chess Olympiad, with five of the strongest contenders being in the Open category. They are seeded No 33.

Russia, Ukraine and France are the top three teams.

At the previous championships in Turkey two years ago, Viet Nam's male chess players finished in seventh place, while the women failed to make it to the top 10. — VNS