VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam’s grandmaster Tu Hoang Thong has claimed the gold medal in the blitz event of the 2014 Australian Chess Championships being held at Springvale Town Hall, Springvale, Victoria, from January 2-11.

Thong, born in 1972, earned 9 points after 11 games – 8 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. He was seeded No.2 among 102 outstanding players at the blitz competition. His score was 0.5 point higher than three runners-up.

The successful performance of Thong has reaffirmed the high reputation of Vietnam’s blitz team after the impressive achievements of its players including Le Quang Liem, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Vo Thi Kim Phung.

Tu Hoang Thong, from HCM City, became Vietnam’s youngest champion in 1986 at the age of 14, a record that has yet to be broken although many young talents like Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Le Quang Liem have attempted.

He won the national champion title three times in 1987, 1991 and 1998, and secured second place at the 1991 and 1992 Asian champs. He also had a berth to compete at Chess Olympiad from 1990 to 2008.

Source: VOV