Liêm beats Garry Kasparov in US chess tourney

Vietnamese grandmaster Lê Quang Liêm. — Photo tinmoi.vn

HÀ NỘI – Vietnamese grandmaster Lê Quang Liêm beat legendary chess player Garry Kasparov in the blitz category in the ongoing St Louis Rapid Blitz tournament in the US on Thursday.

Liêm, who has an Elo rating of  二 七 三 九, beat the Russian-Croatian former world chess champion (Elo  二 八 一 二) after  三 一 moves in the fifth round. On August  一 六, he had lost to  五 四-year-old Kasparov in the rapid category.

“I am very happy as I beat Kasparov although I held the black pawns,” Liêm said after the match.

Liêm also defeated Fabiano Caruano of the US (Elo rating  二 八0 七) in the first round of the blitz category. The Vietnamese player concluded nine blitz games with two wins and four draws, ranking the sixth place in the tournament.

“I am satisfied with my recent results. This helps me reach up to the world’s top players. I hope I can maintain my current fitness,” said Liêm. – VNS