Vietnamese grandmaster to play US rapid, blitz chess tournament

From Aug. 11 to 15, Liem will compete with nine other elite chess grandmasters, including American Wesley So, who had just defeated him in the Chessable Masters final Monday.

Saint Louis 2021 will see players engage in nine rounds of rapid, and 18 rounds of blitz chess for a total prize pool of $150,000. The champion would get $37,000 while the last place pockets $6,000.

In the rapid chess competition, 10 players will play in a round-robin format with a 25-minute, 10-second increment per game. Two points will be awarded for a win and one for a draw.

In the blitz competition, a double round-robin will be applied, with five minutes and two seconds on the clock per game. One point would be given for a win and 0.5 points for a draw.

If two players are tied after a standard game, they will enter a tie-break consisting of two more matches. If the tie remains, an Armageddon game would determine the winner. White will get five minutes and black, four. A draw would hand black the win.

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 GCT, the top three with the most tour points would receive a bonus $175,000.

Liem had taken part in two GTC tournaments in 2017 and 2019. The combined prize money he won totaled $25,000.