Vietnam breaks through in World Youth Chess Cup

After the quarter-final exam on the evening of August 27, Vietnam contributed five representatives in the semi-finals including Dau Khuong Duy (Male 10 years old), Dinh Nho Kiet (Male 12), An Dinh Minh (Male 14), Nguyen Hong Nhung and Vu. Bui Thi Thanh Van (Female 16).

Of the 40 semi-finalists in 10 age groups, Russia has the highest record with eight representatives. Vietnam, the US and India are behind with five players in the semi-finals, while Kazakhstan contributes four. In addition, 13 other countries each have a representative.

The three Vietnamese players who were eliminated in the quarterfinals all fought to the last chance, only to stop at the decisive armageddon game.

Le Thai Hoang Anh lost to the number one Russian seed Diana Preobrazhenskaya in the first quarter-final, Women’s group 10. In the second game, Hoang Anh screened all opponents to bring the match into armageddon. The female player from Ho Chi Minh City held the black piece and lost this game.

Nguyen Linh Dan was also eliminated under the same scenario, losing the first game but winning the second game against Russian opponent Alexandra Shvedova, Women’s group 14. Linh Dan held the black piece in armageddon and sometimes won the game, but made a mistake. win and lose chess.

In the internal match of Vietnam, the Men’s 10 group, Nguyen Quang Minh also lost to Khuong Duy in the first game, and won the second game. In the armageddon game, Quang Minh held the white army, but only drew and stopped in the quarterfinals.

Besides Khuong Duy, the remaining four Vietnamese players who went on to the quarterfinals did not need an armageddono game. Nho Kiet defeated Emir Sharshenbekov 2-0, Dinh Minh defeated FIDE Grandmaster Ediz Gurel 1.5-0.5. In the Women’s group 16, Hong Nhung defeated Amina Kairbekova 2-0, and Thanh Van defeated Yan Ruiyang 1.5-0.5.

Semi-finals will take place from 22:00, Saturday, August 28, Hanoi time. Khuong Duy meets Turkish number one seed Yagiz Khan Erdogmus. Nho Kiet also touched the number one Russian seed Savva Vetokhin. Dinh Minh competes with Bach Ngo – Vietnamese-American chess player. Hong Nhung meets Malaysian player Sim Jia Ru. And Thanh Van played against Kazakh Xeniya Balabayeva.

The top three players in each age group will be invited to the Super Final. Each age group in the Super Final consists of six players: three from the World Chess Cup, two from the Junior Grand Prix, and one with the world’s highest Elo in that age group. These six players will compete in a round-robin two-legged, 10-game round to award medals.

The players who were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Youth Chess Cup will be invited to the Youth Grand Prix in November 2021. Each young Grand Prix age group consists of 14 participants, choosing two places to enter the Super Final.

Xuan Binh