Quang Liem draws China’s former number 1 at HDBank Cup
Vietnamese grandmaster Le Quang Liem yesterday drew his game with Chinese Ni Hua, in what was considered the most-wanted battle in the sixth round of the 2012 HD Bank International Chess Open Tournament taking place in Ho Chi Minh City.
Ni Hua, Elo 2637, is one of the strongest players at the tourney, since he used to be China’s number 1 player, and is listed as a world grandmaster as well.
Though developing attack strategies right after the opening move, Liem, Elo rating 2698, still could not break Ni Hua’s accurate defending tactics.
The two players eventually agreed to draw the game after 64 thrilling moves.
This is the first draw for the Chinese player after winning five in a row. He remains in the top place with 5.5 points, with Liem closely chasing behind with 5 points.
Liem will face Filipino Gomez John Paul (Elo 2512) today in the seventh round. Paul is the second runner up from last year’s edition, and was beaten by Liem at the 26th SEA Games.
European Vovinam Championship wraps up in Italy
The 2012 European Vovinam Championship yesterday concluded in Italy, with the host team topping the medal tally with 8 golds, 4 silvers, and 5 bronzes.
The event took place from March 3 – 4 at the Getur Village Sports Center in Lignano Sabbiadoro City, and attracted 258 leading martial artists from 11 European countries, including Poland, Belarus, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Russia, France, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, and host country Italy.
The World Vovinam Federation (WVF) has sent its deputy Chairman Nguyen Van Chieu and General Secretary Vo Danh Hai to Milan, Italy, to supervise the championships.
The event saw 35 individual fighting matches in both men’s and women’s categories, and 16 non-fighting performances.
While Italy took the highest place after the tourney, Romania finished second with 5 golds, 4 silvers and 8 bronzes. It was followed by the French team, who brought home 5 golds, 3 silvers, and 3 bronzes.
Other teams in the top 7 are Russia, Germany, Spain, and Belarus.
After the championships, Chieu and Hai will organize training courses for some Italian Vovinam clubs from March 6 – 8.
The first edition of the event was held in France in 2010, and the next edition is to take place in Romania in 2014.
SLNA eyes victory at AFC Cup qualifier
Nghe An-based football club SLNA aims to earn three points in the first round, and will try to advance as far as possible at the 2012 AFC Cup, said head coach Nguyen Huu Thang at the press briefing prior to the match against Malaysia’s Terengganu at 4pm today at Vinh Stadium.
“Playing with foreign clubs is a value chance, so we will allow young players to grab the opportunity,” he said.
For his part, coach Mohd Zan Bin Mat Aris of Terengganu also eyes a victory, although they are the away team this time.
“We are bringing the best players to Vietnam, five of which have been recruited to the national squad, and two are from Nigeria and Brazil,” he said.
“We are not afraid of the pressure from local fans since our players have experience in playing away. We are determined to enter the second round.”
At the 2012 AFC Cup qualifier, SLNA is in Group F with Kitchee of Hong Kong, Singapore’s Tampines Rovers, and Terengganu.
SLNA will leave for Singapore to face the Tampines Rovers in the second round on March 20.