Vietnamese chess player Lê Quang Liêm. — Photo thethaovietnam.vn

HÀ NỘI — Top Vietnamese chess player Lê Quang Liêm took the lead in the Summer Chess Classic’s rankings in the US yesterday.

The HCM City-born player drew with David Howell of the UK in the eighth round after 31 moves.

Liêm also tied with Howell in an earlier match after 110 moves.

After eight matches, Liêm topped the rankings with 4.5 points. Despite Howell also being on 4.5 points, he was ranked in second place due to tiebreak scores.

Americans Sam Shankland and Jeffery Xiong are on four points, ranked third.

Liêm will next face off against Gawain Jones of the UK in the ninth match. In a previous meeting, the Vietnamese player held his British rival to a draw in the fifth match.

The tournament, which is a double round-robin event containing three groups of six players, will end tomorrow, June 28. — VNS