Liem defeats teammate in third round of world chess contest

Le Quang Liem (right).

Vietnamese Grandmaster (GM) Le Quang Liem defeated his teammate Hoang Canh Huan during the third round of the FIDE World Chess Championships-Zone 3.3 held in HCM City yesterday.

Two-time Aeroflot Open champion Liem will meet Wynn Zaw Htun of Myanmar in the next round.

Another Vietnamese representative, GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son also defeated Pascua Haridas of the Philippines. Today, Son will face Gundavaa Bayarsaikhan of Mongolia.

Meanwhile, GM Cao Sang lost to his teammate FIDE Master Le Tuan Minh and Tran Quoc Dung tied with GM Gomez John Paul of the Philippines.

After three rounds, the number one seeded Liem and second-seeded Son temporarily have 2.5 points each and are ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, out of 44 players.

The No. 21 seeded Vietnamese Minh surprised everyone with his 2.5 points, but is ranked second because of a different index. The first position belongs to Htun of Myanmar with three points.

In the women's side, the event's top three positions belong to Vietnamese players Pham Le Thao Nguyen with three points, Nguyen Thi Mai Hung with 2.5 points and Munguntuul Batkhuyag of Mongolia with 2.5 points.

The nine-day tournament has attracted 44 male and 20 female players from countries, such as Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines and Singapore. The winner in the men's category will bring home US$2,000, while the best women player will receive US$1,000 before competing in the final round.

The Vietnamese team has sent 22 male and 16 female players to the event.

Ha Noi 1 beat TNG Thai Nguyen in national women's football champs

Defending champions Ha Noi 1 beat TNG Thai Nguyen 3-0 in the first leg of the National Women's Football Championships in HCM City's Thong Nhat Stadium yesterday.

In another match, HCM City easily defeated Tao Dan 7-1.

Though it missed many key players, HCM City dominated the entire match.

In the 17th minute, My Anh opened the score, and Thuy Trinh doubled the score a minute later. Phan Thi Trang took the score to 3-0 in the 28th minute.

After the break, HCM City scored three goals, thanks to Thuy Trinh, Bich Thuy and Hoai Luong.

Following an individual error, Tao Dan gave their rivals another more goal in the 65th minute before Thu Thao reduced the margin with a consolation goal in the 77th minute.

In other news, Phong Phu Ha Nam lost to Coal and Mineral 1-0.

Binh, Ngoc win semi-final berth in women's tennis nationals

Phan Thanh Binh of Da Nang won a berth in the semi-final round of the over-18 category of the National Women's Tennis Championships in Da Lat City.

Binh won two break points in each set to beat Dao Minh Trang of HCM City 7-5, 6-4 yesterday.

She will play against Si Boi Ngoc in the next round. Ngoc had easily beaten Huynh Phi Khanh 6-3, 6-1 in an all-HCM City match earlier.

In the U-18 pool, Nguyen Thi Van Anh of Hai Duong lost 2-6, 1-6 to teammate Nguyen Thi Anh Nguyet. Meanwhile, Le Thi Truc Linh of Tay Ninh beat teammate Vo Hoang Thuy Linh 6-2, 6-4.

In the U-16 category, Hanoian Nguyen Thu Phuong won 6-1, 6-0 over Nguyen Thi Cam Nhung from Tay Ninh. Kien Giang's representative Lam Phan Phuong Khanh trounced Duong Hoai Anh of Lam Dong 6-0, 6-0.

More than 30 athletes are competing in the tournament's different age group categories, ranging from U-12 to over-18 years, and in the singles and doubles categories.

The finals are scheduled for Thursday.

The Viet Nam Tennis Federation will select the best performers for inclusion in the national team, who will compete at the Southeast Asian Games in Singapore this June.