Vietnamese Grandmaster (GM) Le Quang Liem. — Photo thanhnien

HA NOI (VNS)  — Vietnamese Grandmaster (GM) Le Quang Liem defeated his teammate Hoang Canh Huan during the third round of the FIDE World Chess Championships-Zone 3.3 held in HCM City yesterday.

Two-time Aeroflot Open champion Liem will meet Wynn Zaw Htun of Myanmar in the next round.

Another Vietnamese representative, GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son also defeated Pascua Haridas of the Philippines. Today, Son will face Gundavaa Bayarsaikhan of Mongolia.

Meanwhile, GM Cao Sang lost to his teammate FIDE Master Le Tuan Minh and Tran Quoc Dung tied with GM Gomez John Paul of the Philippines.

After three rounds, the number one seeded Liem and second-seeded Son temporarily have 2.5 points each and are ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, out of 44 players.

The No. 21 seeded Vietnamese Minh surprised everyone with his 2.5 points, but is ranked second because of a different index. The first position belongs to Htun of Myanmar with three points.

In the women's side, the event's top three positions belong to Vietnamese players Pham Le Thao Nguyen with three points, Nguyen Thi Mai Hung with 2.5 points and Munguntuul Batkhuyag of Mongolia with 2.5 points.

The nine-day tournament has attracted 44 male and 20 female players from countries, such as Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines and Singapore. The winner in the men's category will bring home US$2,000, while the best women player will receive US$1,000 before competing in the final round.

The Vietnamese team has sent 22 male and 16 female players to the event. — VNS