Le Quang Liem drew with Bitoon Richard of the Philippines in the second round of the Zone 3.3 Championships 2015 for Open and Women in HCM City yesterday. Photo news.zing.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — International Grandmaster Le Quang Liem tied with Bitoon Richard of the Philippines in the second round of the Zone 3.3 Championships 2015 for Open and Women in HCM City yesterday.

Liem has an Elo rating of 2676 and is the event's number one seed, while the unseeded Filipino has an Elo rating of 2422.

In the first round, the two-time Aeroflot Open champion easily defeated Liu Xiangyi of Singapore.

Liem's teammate and number two seed Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, who drew with Bersamina Paulo of the Philippines in the first match, defeated Nay Oo Kyaw Tun of Myanmar in the second match.

After two rounds, both Liem and Son have 1.5 points each and are not among the event's top five ranks.

However, Vietnamese female players gave an outstanding performance to grab four places among the top five. They are Pham Bich Ngoc, Pham Le Thao Nguyen, Nguyen Thi Mai Hung and Pham Thi Thu Hien.

The winner in the men's category will take home US$2,000, while the best female player will receive $1,000. The event ends on March 16. — VNS