Vietnamese top chess player Le Quang Liem lost to Lienier Dominguez from Cuba in his fifth match at the Spice Cup in the US on Thursday.
Grandmaster Liem, who has an Elo rating of 2717, was defeated in 59 moves by Dominguez, Elo 2710.
After his loss, Liem now ranks second in Group A with eight points. Dominguez has taken the lead with nine points. George Meier, Ray Robson and Yury Shulman trail with six points each.
The two-time Aeroflot champion Liem is scheduled to meet Shulman in his next match.
The Spice Cup, which will last until October 25, set a minimum of Elo 2583 as an entrance requirement, and thus boasts the highest average Elo in the history of US tournaments.
An Giang triumph at Delta games
An Giang have triumphed at the Mekong Delta Sports Games for a fourth time, winning 71 gold, 54 silver and 44 bronze medals.
Can Tho came in second with 49 golds, 70 silvers and 63 bronzes, while Dong Thap finished third with 45 golds, 38 silvers and 44 bronzes.
The event attracted 2,648 athletes from 13 provinces and cities in the region, who competed in a combined 27 events.
Hoa Sen Group sponsors football
Hoa Sen Group will continue to sponsor the National Football Cup 2012 and First Division Football League 2012, the Viet Nam Football Federation (VFF) has confirmed.
Under the contract signed between the group and VFF on Thursday, next year's National Cup will be named ‘National Football Cup-Hoa Sen Plastic 2012', and the First Division football title will be known as ‘Ton Hoa Sen Cup 2012'.
Twenty-five teams will play in the National Cup, 14 from the V-League and 11 from the First Division. The event will kick off on December 18 and conclude on August 26, 2012.
The First Division event will start on December 31 and conclude on August 18 next year, with 14 participating teams.
Hoa Sen sponsored the national squad during the 2007 AFF Cup and has been a supporter of Viet Nam's referee programmes.
The group also sponsored disadvantaged children's football tournaments and the SOS children's village football tournaments. — VNS