VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese chess masters failed to make it through to the semi-finals of the first World Mind Sports Games in Beijing after amassing one win, one loss, and one draw in the last two days.

International Grand Masters Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Le Quang Liem also failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals in the men’s individual rapid chess event, finishing with five points after nine rounds.

In round seven on Monday, Liem lost to Ukraine’s Yuriy Kryvoruchko, while Son lost to Ukraine’s Yuri Drozdovsk.

Following his round-seven defeat, Son went on to beat China’s Wang Yue, while Liem beat Akobian Varuzhan from the United States.

In the semi-finals, Alexandr Fier of Brazil will play Anton Korobov of the Ukraine, while China’s Bu Xuangzhi will meet Zhang Zhong from Singapore.

Viet Nam’s women’s team fared little better than the men. Master Hoang Thi Bao Tram drew with teammate Le Kieu Thien Kim to finish the tournament with just 3.5 points, while Kim amassed three points. Meanwhile, Pham Le Thao Nguyen finished on four points after beating Kateryna Dolzikova of the Ukraine.

In the semi-finals will be two chess players from China, one from Russia and one from Bulgaria.

In xiangqi (Chinese chess), Viet Nam’s Nguyen Vu Quan lost to Wang Yang from China in the last round of the men’s rapid event, which meant the world silver medallist failed to make it through to the final.

Quan’s teammate Nguyen Thanh Bao finished in 10th place.

The gold medal went to Wang Yang from China.

Wang, 24, who began learning xiangqi at the age of 12, finished the tournament without losing a game. His teammate, Jiang Chuan, who drew with Wang, finished in second place.

“I am very excited to win the first gold for China. It is the first time I have won an international title and I feel very honoured,” said Wang, who comes from Wuhan Province in central China.

“Although I finished the tournament with eight wins and one draw, I am very lucky to win the gold. In several matches, I came very close to losing. But I managed to hang on, while my opponents hesitated, which gave me a chance,” said Wang.

Jiang Chuan, also 24, said: “Generally speaking, I am not satisfied with my performance in this tournament. I think I need to keep trying to improve.” Jiang ended the tournament with six wins and three draws.

The bronze medal went to Hong Kong’s Zhao Ruquan.

In the women’s competition, defending Asian champion Ngo Lan Huong yesterday won one and lost one to clinch the title.

Cao Phuong Thanh also from Viet Nam, lost her last two games to finish in the middle of the table.

The seven-round women’s individual chess event ends tomorrow.

The first World Mind Games, which officially began last Friday, attracted more than 3,000 players from 143 countries and territories. Bridge, chess, go, draughts and xiangqi are on the programme. There are 35 gold medals up for grabs, including five in xiangqi.

(Source: Viet Nam News)