Grand master Le Quang Liem is Vietnam’s only representative in the upcomingWorld Chess Championship 2009.

Grand master Le Quang Liem.

The event, from November 21 to December 5 in Russia, will include of 128 chess players from 40 countries and territories.

As the only representative from Vietnam, HCM City invited Russian expert, Evgeny Bareev, who was among the top four chess players in the world, to train Liem at home for six weeks, at the cost of $10,000.

According to the draw, Liem’s rival in the first round will be a French player, Tkachiev Vladislav, who is ranked higher than Liem.

With the total bonus worth $1.6 million, each player who enters the finals will receive $6000 and the bonus for the champion will be $120,000.

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre