Vietnam scores gold at world junior chess championships

Vietnamese junior chess masters performed outstandingly at the first World Cadet Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2017 in Minsk, Belarus from June 2 to 4, racking up one gold, three silver and five bronze medals in both categories.

Phuc’s achievement was most impressive as the under-8 section featured up to 150 competitors, and he only outclassed the next two best performers from Russia and Latvia thanks to better auxiliaries. In the blitz competition on Sunday, Phuc was one of Vietnam’s best performers, claiming an under-8 silver medal with eight points after eight wins and one loss.

Phuc was victorious in his opening eight matches, but failed to secure at least half a point in the last match following a defeat to Russian competitor Vetokhin Savva. Another Russian player, Rudnev Andrei was crowned champion in the category with eight points and superior auxiliaries than Phuc.

In addition to Phuc’s success, Vietnam’s chess team also won three bronze medals in the rapid category, which went to Mai Hieu Linh in the girls’ under-8 division (seven points after nine rounds), Nguyen Linh Dan in the girls’ under-10 division (seven points after nine rounds) and Nguyen Thien Ngan in the girls’ under-12 division (6.5 points after nine rounds).

The other two silver medals were secured in the blitz chess event by Ho Ngoc Vy (girls’ under-8) and Vuong Quynh Anh (girls’ under-12), while Mai Hieu Linh (girls’ under-8) and Thai Ngoc Tuong Minh (girls’ under-10) accounted for the remaining two blitz bronze medals.

The first World Cadet Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2017 took place in Minsk, Belarus from June 2-4 with the participation of 649 players from 24 countries and territories, who competed for rapid and blitz chess titles in the under-8, under-10 and under-12 categories. - NDO