Top Vietnamese chess player Le Quang Liem drew with Grandmaster Lalith Babu of Indonesia in the fifth round of the Asian Continental Chess Championships in the Philippines yesterday.

Another Vietnamese player, Dao Thien Hai lost to Chao B Li of China.

In the women's competition, Nguyen Thi Thanh An and Hoang Thi Nhu Y were defeated by Qi Guo and Jue Wang of China, respectively.

After the championships, the five best male players and one best female player will earn tickets to compete at the World Chess Cup due to take place later this year.

Vietnamese players Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and An qualified for the World Cup thanks to their championship titles at a Zone 3.3 chess tournament earlier this year.-VNS