Vietnamese GM falls behind in rapid chess tournament

By Xuan Binh   August 13, 2021 | 03:25 am PT
Vietnamese GM falls behind in rapid chess tournament
Le Quang Liem plays in the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz in the U.S. on August 13, 2021. Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour.
Le Quang Liem got just two points on the second day of Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2021 tournament in the U.S. Friday, slipping to second last position.

Liem began the day facing American Hikaru Nakamura. He got a small advantage at the end but couldn’t wrap up the game with a win and accepted a draw.

In the next game, Liem played Peter Svidler. The Russian grandmaster dominated most of the time but made a critical mistake in his 36th move that Liem failed to spot. He got a chance to take the game to a draw in the last few moves but couldn't use it and lost to Svidler.

Liem played the last game of the second day against Hungary's Richard Rapport. The two went back and forth before settling for a draw.

With two draws and one loss, Liem only got two out of the maximum possible six points on the second day. Along with three points earned on the first day, Liem ranks eighth with Svidler. Right above him, there are five players who also have six points each.

World number two, Italian-American Fabiano Caruana, is leading with ninth points, followed by Nakamura with seven. In last place is American Jeffery Xiong with four points.

Liem will play Xiong and U.S. players Sam Shankland and Leinier Dominguez on the third day.

From Aug. 11 to 15, players will engage in nine rounds of rapid and 18 rounds of blitz chess for a total prize pool of $150,000. The champion will get $37,000 while the last-placed contestant pockets $6,000.

Saint Loius 2021 is the third and final rapid and blitz event of Grand Chess Tour (GCT), a series of two classical and three rapid and blitz tournaments. Participants are eligible to earn tour points in these events. At the end of the GCT, the top three players with the most tour points will receive a bonus $175,000.

 
 
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