Vietnamese chess ace to compete in Steinitz Memorial contest

By Xuan Binh May 9, 2020 | 08:45 pm PT

Vietnamese chess grandmaster Le Quang Liem at the Grand Chess Tour in Romania, November 2019. Photo from the organizer's Facebook page.

Vietnamese Grandmaster Le Quang Liem will participate at the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Online Steinitz Memorial tournament next weekend.

The three-day event, held May 15-17, will feature 10 players including reigning world champion, Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen of Norway.

The online tournament is held to celebrate the legacy of the father of modern chess Wilhelm Steinitz (1836-1900). The Austrian-American was the first undisputed World Champion in the history of chess, holding sway between 1886-1894.

A total of 20 players are participating in the blitz event, with 10 in the Open category and 10 in the Women's category.

Liem will compete in the Open category along with other leading international names like Russia's Alexander Grischuk and Azerbaijan's Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

The women will see the participation of Bulgaria's Antoaneta Stefanova and China's Tan Zhongyi.

The tournament will be broadcast live on the Chess.com website with commentary available in multiple languages, starting at 11:30 p.m. Vietnam time next Friday.

The two 10-player double round-robin tournament has a total prize pool of €30,000 (nearly $33,000).