Vietnamese girls face off in U16 chess world cup final

The match between Vu Bui Thi Thanh Van and Nguyen Hong Nhung will start at 10 p.m. local time. Van and Nhung reached the U16 girl’s final after semifinal victories over Kazakhstan’s Xeniya Balabayeva and Malaysia’s Sim Jia Ru, respectively.

The two players have also earned spots at the Super Final of the tournament with six contestants this December.

Two other Vietnamese players, Dau Khuong Duy and Dinh Nho Kiet, lost in the semifinals of the tournament. In the U10 boys category, Duy lost to Turkey’s Yagiz Khan Erdogmus; and in the U12 boys category, Kiet lost to Russia’s Savva Vetokhin.

However, the Vietnamese players can get a chance to compete in the Super Final depending on their matches to secure a third ranking, also held Sunday night. Duy will face Russia’s Matfey Yurasov, and Kiet’s opponent will be Ukraine’s Ihor Samunenkov.

The FIDE Online Rapid World Cup Cadets & Youth is a two-stage tournament for five different age groups – under 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 – with two sections - open and girls. Participants must not have reached their 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, or 18th birthdays, respectively, before January 1, 2021.

The top three finishers in each category will qualify for the FIDE Online Rapid Super Final 2021, which has a prize pool of $30,000.