Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (right to left) on the medal podium. One day
after snatching the men’s team rapid chess title from their Chinese
competitors, the two Vietnamese stars continued to overwhelm the Chinese team
in the blitz chess category, on their way to capturing Vietnam’s 13th gold
medal at the 2017 Games in Turkmenistan.
Liem,
with a blitz elo rating of 2,762, took advantage of playing white to beat
Wang Yue, rated 2,683, at table no. 1, while Truong Son (Blitz Elo 2,654)
registered an impressive win against Yu Yangyi (Elo 2,680) despite having to
play black.
The
exceptional performances of Liem and Son helped the Vietnamese chess team to
enjoy a fabulous finish to their AIMAG 2017 campaign with a collection of
three gold medals, won in the men’s individual standard, team rapid and team
blitz chess events.
Contributing
to all of Vietnam’s three titles, Quang Liem has become the most valuable
Vietnamese athlete in Turkmenistan, overcoming the brilliance of swimmer
Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, who achieved a personal tally of two gold and one silver
medal.
In the
women’s team blitz final, Vietnamese duo Pham Le Thao Nguyen and Hoang Thi
Bao Tram lost 0-2 to Chinese Tan Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie, settling for a
silver medal.
The
Vietnamese chess team ranked second at the AIMAG 2017 with three golds, one
silver and two bronzes, behind the Chinese team with five gold and six silver
medals.
Concluding
the AIMAG competition, Vietnam settled for ninth place overall in the medal
standings, with 13 golds, eight silvers and 19 bronzes, with the titles
secured in weightlifting (2), swimming (2), track and field (1), dancesport
(1), billiards (1), chess (3), taekwondo (1), Kurash (1) and Muay (1).
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