Master Minh to represent Việt Nam at World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship

Chess

SEA Games reigning champion Lê Tuấn Minh of Việt Nam (left) will compete at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship 2023 in Uzbekistan next month. VNS Photo Anh Thư

HÀ NỘI — Master Lê Tuấn Minh will be Việt Nam’s sole representative at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship 2023 in Uzbekistan next month.

Nguyễn Minh Thắng, general secretary of the Việt Nam Chess Federation, said Minh was a strong player in either rapid or blitz chess categories.

He won gold medals at the 31st SEA Games on home soil.

In July, Minh took part in the online 2023 Super United Rapid & Blitz Croatia event where he checkmated super grandmasters such as reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway.

Minh competed in last year championship but he did not make top three.

The 2023 championships will open on December 25 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with a US$1 million prize fund.

The Open and Women’s competitions are held separately, with around 180 players in the Open events and 100 players in the Women’s events.

The first Championship on the schedule will be the FIDE World Rapid Chess 2023 which will be played from December 26-28. The Open Rapid Championship will be played in 13 rounds and Women’s Championship will be played in 11 rounds, both in Swiss system.

FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship 2023 will be played over two days December 29-30. The Open Blitz are played over 21 rounds while it is 17 rounds for the Women’s.

The top prize in each Open event is $60,000, with $40,000 for the Women’s tournaments.

In last year’s event in nearby Almaty, Kazakhstan, Carlsen ensured he wouldn’t be without a world title in 2023 by clinching clear first in both the World Rapid and Blitz Championships, to grow his world championship haul to 15 titles: five Classical, six Blitz, and four Rapid. VNS