LookAtVietnam – International Grand Master Le Quang Liem has claimed a place in the world top 20, as set by the World Chess Federation in April, the federation announced.

The HCM City-born athlete gained an elo rate of 2,591 in April’s FIDE rankings to put his name alongside the best world athletes.

Liem, who born in 1991, was conferred the International Grand master title right after the Chess Olympiad 2006 finished in Turin in 2006.

His most successful year to date was 2005, when he pocketed a single gold and a team silver at the Asian Chess Championship.

Another IGM, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, was unable to clinch a place in the top 20 after being unable to compete in international tournaments around the year.

Liem and Son will hope to improve their ranking as HCM City hosts the World Chess Championship qualifiers (zone 3.3) on July 20-29, which see the men’s and women’s winners qualifying for the final round of the World Chess Championship.

In 2006, Vietnamese chess players claimed three regional places (two for men and one for women) at the World Cup in Mexico after stellar competition in the World Chess Championships qualifiers on Phu Quoc Island, in Kien Giang Province.

In the last two years, the Viet Nam Chess Federation inked an annual sponsorship deal with financial investment firm Dragon Capital to the tune of US$40,000, which runs until this year.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News