AIMAG

HÀ NỘI — Lê Quang Liêm and Nguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn brought home the last gold medal for the Việt Nam delegation in the men’s team’s blitz chess category at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG), which concluded in Turkmenistan yesterday.

Grandmasters Liêm and Sơn defeated Chinese rivals 2-0 to take gold. Liêm bested Wang Yue, while Sơn crushed Yu Yang-yi.

Earlier, the Vietnamese duo bested their arch rivals from India 1.5-0.5 in the semi-finals. The game demonstrated Sơn’s outstanding fitness. Although he held the black pawns - meaning he lacked the advantage of being able to make the first move - he beat Ganguly Surya Shekhar. On the other board, Liêm tied with Krishnan Sasikiran.

In the qualifying round, Việt Nam defeated rivals from Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan and tied with Indonesia, India and China.

On the women’s side, Phạm Lê Thảo Nguyên and Hoàng Thị Bảo Trâm won a silver medal after losing to China’s Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie 0-2 in the final.

In the semi-final, Nguyên and Trâm defeated Turkmenistan rivals 1.5-0.5. Trâm beat Velieva Hurma and Nguyên drew with Geldiyeva Mahri.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese male and female U23 teams failed in the qualification.

On Tuesday, Liêm paired with Sơn to take gold medal in the men’s team rapid chess event. Earlier on Sunday, the HCM City-born player Liêm won gold in the men’s individual standard category.

Việt Nam’s chess team won a total of three golds, one silver and two bronzes, making an important contribution to Việt Nam’s achievements at this year’s tournament.

Việt Nam earned 13 golds, eight silvers and 19 bronzes to rank ninth in the medal tally.

The hosts topped the rankings with 89 golds, 70 silvers and 86 bronzes. China were the runner-up with 42 golds, followed by Iran who earned 36 golds.

Liêm and swimmer Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên are the two best athletes from Việt Nam in Turkmenistan. Liêm won three gold medals, including two in team events, while Viên seized two golds and one silver and broke two records. — VNS