Le Quang Liem drops to 63rd in world rankings 

Vietnam ’s top chess player Le Quang Liem slid from the 44 th to 63 rd place in the latest rankings by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).

The outcome was blamed for his recent unsuccessful performances at the Millionaire Chess Tournament and Spice Cup 2014, both held in the US .

Liem’s current Elo rating is 2678, much lower than the level of 2706 he gained the previous month, pulling him out of the list of super grandmasters.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son remained in FIDE’s Top 100 male players, ranking 91 st in the world with an Elo rating of 2659.

In the female list, Vietnamese-Hungarian Hoang Thanh Trang, the winner of the European Women’s Championship in 2013, maintained her 25 th position in the world rankings with an Elo rating of 2480.-VNA

Viet Nam bag silver at regional table tennis championships

Viet Nam won a silver medal at the ninth Southeast Asia Table Tennis Championships in Cambodia on Sunday.

The Vietnamese women's squad lost 2-3 to Singapore in the final match.

They had defeated Malaysia 3-0, Indonesia 3-2 and Thailand 3-1 in the previous stages.

The Vietnamese men's team, however, failed to make top three.

The championships began in Phnom Penh on Saturday, with the participation of 90 players from eight countries.

The eight-day-long competition will end on November 8.

Local, foreign teams prepare to compete for Binh Duong Cup

The International Football Tournament Binh Duong Television-Number 1 Cup will begin on Friday, with eight local and foreign teams being divided into two groups.

In Group A are V-League side Dong Tam Long An, the South Korean student team and Bec Tero Sasana of Thailand, as well as hosts Becamex Binh Duong.

Group B consists of Quang Ninh Coal, SHB Da Nang and Capixaba from Brazil, besides Myanmar's champions Ayeyawady United.

The teams will compete in a round-robin format in the first stage, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals.

The final is scheduled for November 16.

The winner will walk away with a cash prize of VND450 million (US$21,400). Two referees from Thailand and Myanmar have been invited to adjudicate at the tournament. 

Vietnamese women target berth in 2015 AFC U19 Championship finals

Vietnam’s U19 women’s national team will compete in the Group C qualifiers for the 2015 AFC U19 Championship, scheduled from November 5-9 at the Hanoi-based Youth Football Training Centre, with the sole goal of winning the group’s only finals ticket.

Australia is considered the strongest in Group C with its women’s football rating always among the FIFA ranking’s top ten. The other group members - Singapore, Hong Kong (China) and Vietnam - are all at a lower level and have not yet achieved outstanding results at the continental arena.

However, Vietnam is stilled evaluated superior compared to the remaining two, with their position on the regional stage having gradually improved. Most recently, Vietnam finished second at the 2014 AFF U19 Women’s Championship, only succumbing to U19 Thailand 5-3 in an unlucky penalty shoot-out.

Also at the competition, the Vietnamese women thrashed their Singaporean opponents with a stunning score of 10-0, which reflected Vietnam’s superiority over one of their competitors at the upcoming 2015 AFC U19 qualification.

Regarding Hong Kong (China), Vietnam is enjoying a 34-spot advantage in the third-quarter FIFA women’s world ranking, ranking 34th compared to Hong Kong’s 68th. It is hoped that the Vietnam U19 team will strive their best to maintain the power and position they are currently holding.

Vietnam’s toughest opponent in Group C is U19 Australia. Sitting 10th in the current world standings, Australia’s women’s footballers always exert their full powers at continental competitions. Despite failing to progress at the 2013 AFC U19 Championship qualifiers, U19 Australia, with their advantages in physical strength and stamina, are favourites for the group’s top spot in this year's event.

To conquer the 2015 AFC U19 qualifiers, the Vietnam U19 women’s team spent a year training and challenging themselves in both domestic and regional tournaments. After the first leg of the 2014 National U19 Championship, more than 20 players from local teams were called on to the national team, coached by Nguyen Duy Hung, to prepare for the 2014 AFF U19 Women’s Championship, which took place last August in Bangkok, Thailand. During the 10-day competition, U19 Vietnam performed outstandingly to finish second, just behind Thailand. This encouraging result contributed to boosting the Vietnamese women’s spirit for upcoming football events.

Members of the national U19 team, made up of the most valuable players, reconvened on September 27 following the conclusion of the national championship's second leg. With constant packed schedule in 2014, Vietnamese players have maintained their physical strength and stable form and are now ready for battle in the Group qualifiers for next year’s AFC U19 Championship.

Vietnamese women also went through 10 days of training in the central province Thanh Hoa. They joined five friendly matches during the training course, aiming to discover and address their existing weaknesses.

Asked about Vietnam’s Group C opponents, the national team’s coach, Nguyen Duy Hung affirmed that all players would play to the best of their abilities to realise the goal of advancing into the finals of the 2015 AFC U19 Championship.

U19 Vietnam will play the opener against U19 Singapore on November 5 before taking on U19 Hong Kong (China) and U19 Australia on November 7 and 9 respectively.

The qualifiers feature 14 teams in four groups competing in a round robin format to decide the top scorer of each group who will progress into next year’s finals in China. The top four finishers of the 2013 championship, including Republic of Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, China and Japan, have already earned wild cards to the finals.

Nhandan/VNS