Vietnam super grandmaster enters int’l chess tournament semifinals

Liem maintained his impressive form in the quarterfinals and won the first game playing white. But Navara quickly equalized in the second game. In the third game, Liem pushed forward early as he usually does and claimed a win after just 27 moves. The last match saw Liem getting an advantage that can lead to another win, but he settled for a draw, which concluded the quarterfinals with a 2.5-1.5 victory.

“Confidence is a key factor, especially in rapid chess. If you are not confident, you will overthink and waste your valuable time. In rapid chess, we don’t have to always make the best moves, we just need to make the most suitable moves,” Liem said after the victory.

This is Liem’s second time advancing to the semifinals of a Champion Chess Tour event, after Chessable Masters last year, where he went all the way to the final and lost to American Wesley So.

Liem’s opponent in the semifinals will be Poland number one Jan-Krzysztof Duda, the defending champion of FIDE World Cup who lost to Liem in the group stage.

“I will continue to play as usual, maybe faster and more prepared. I might have to study Duda’s games a bit,” Liem said.

The other semifinal match is between chess king Magnus Carlsen and China number one Ding Liren.

Just like the quarterfinals, the semifinals will be played in the format of four-game matches. If still tied, two blitz games will be followed, if needed, by an Armageddon game, where white has five minutes to black’s four, but black only needs a draw to win.

The online Charity Cup takes place from March 19 to 26. It’s the second event in the grand series Champion Chess Tour. The winner will pocket $25,000.