Vietnamese grandmaster refuses invitation to US chess tournament

By Xuan Binh August 17, 2021 | 02:30 am PT

Le Quang Liem (R) with Haruki Nakamura in the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz on August 16, 2021. Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour

Due to conflict in schedule, Le Quang Liem won't be able to play the Sinquefield Cup in the U.S. on Aug. 18.

Liem was invited by the organizer before the tournament, but the number one chess player in Vietnam couldn't participate because of his current job, which is coaching the chess team of Webster University, Missouri in the U.S. He took the job in April last year and now the university has entered its new semester.

Sinquefield Cup is the last tournament in the prestigious Grand Chess Tour series. 10 players will compete in classic chess games from Aug. 18 to 28 for a prize pool of $325,000, with the winner pocketing $90,000 and the last place getting $10,000.

Grand Chess Tour (GCT) is 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 of $175,000.

Liem played in the previous tournament of GCT - Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz in August and won $12,500 for peaking fifth.

The last time Liem competed in a classic chess tournament was in October 2019 at Grand Swiss, where he placed eighth.