VietNamNet Bridge – Aronian Levon (Elo 2805) was held to a draw by Le Quang Liem (elo 2710) in a historic game between Armenia and Vietnam at the ongoing Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway, on August 12.

Le Quang Liem

Hold white pieces, Vietnam’s No1 chess player produced a tactical performance, forcing the former World champion to share a point after 59 moves.

At table 2, Liem’s team mate Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (elo 2634), despite holding black pieces, also shared a point with stronger Sargissian Gabriel (elo 2672).

Son is the only player of the Vietnamese men’s team who has not experienced any defeat at Chess Olympiad 2014. He has achieved six wins and three draws, pocketing 7.5 points.

At table 3, Nguyen Duc Hoa (elo 2501) surprisingly overwhelmed arch-rival Movsesian Sergei (elo 2672) after 39 moves.

However, the Vietnamese team could not obtain a point from the game when Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy (elo 2507) lost to another Armenian player at table 4.

Vietnam’s 2-2 draw with Armenia is a big surprise at the tournament as their rivals won the trophy in 2006, 2008 and 2012.

 The draw helped the Vietnamese men’s team jump to 18th place with 14 points.

Meanwhile, the women’s team slid to 29th position after a 1.5-2.5 loss to the US.

VOV/VNN