Grandmaster Le Quang Liem (right) is placed 33rd in the world rankings in November. — Photo thethaovietnam.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — Vietnamese chess Grandmaster Le Quang Liem has jumped 17 spots to 33rd in the November rankings, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) said.

The former world blitz champion won the annual SPICE Cup Open, the highest rated international invitational tournament in the United States, and walked away with a cash prize of US$5,000. He was the runner-up at the Millionaire Chess Tournament in Las Vegas.

HCM City's Liem also entered the third round of the World Cup 2015 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The three tournaments helped his Elo to rise from 2697 in the October rankings to 2818 in the November rankings.

Two-time Aeroflot Open Champion Liem aims to rank among the world's top 30.

Meanwhile, Liem's teammate Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son was placed 123rd in the FIDE rankings, with an Elo rating of 2642.

Son had entered the second round of the World Cup in Baku. — VNS