Le Quang Liem Wins Asian Zone 3.3 Chess 2015

Le Quang Liem confidently wins this event with 7.5/9 points. His close competitors followed by half point behind, those are Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son and Zhang Zhong. They are also the first, second and third seeds for FIDE Zone 3.3 Chess Championship, meaning the power horse for this zone is actually already sealed upon these big names. The last round saw Le Quang Liem being pushed into 96 moves by Oliver Barbosa. Le Quang Liem defending the black side of Queen's Gambit Declined, winning one extra pawn but the activity of white pieces is still enough to hold for a draw. Le Quang Liem is clearly cleansing this field, see last round report.

Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son is not worry to employ the French defence against senior Eugenio Torre. Truong Son won this game after 57 moves. The third place were decided when Zhang Zhong also seemingly quite smooth getting out from his Queen's Gambit Declined with advantage. Zhang Zhong finished the game with full point over Dao Thien Hai.

With these results, Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son will be eligible for tickets to the next world championship, or world cup? Supposedly being in Baku. On the girls section, IM Pham Le Thao Nguyen claimed the ticket over her two strong competitor, IM Munguntuul Batkhuyag and Li Ruofan. Munguntuul only half point behind the leader and must wait for other opportunity.

FIDE Zone 3.3 Chess Championship 2015, Ho Chi Minh City, Final Standings:
1 Le Quang Liem 7.5
2 Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son 7
3 Zhang Zhong 6.5
4 Barbosa Oliver 6
5 Cao Sang 6
more at chess-results

FIDE Zone 3.3 Chess Championship 2015, Ho Chi Minh City, Female Final Standings:

1 Pham Le Thao Nguyen 7.5
2 Munguntuul Batkhuyag 7
3 Pham Thi Thu Hien  5.5
4 Pham Bich Ngoc 5.5

5 Luong Phuong Hanh 5.5
more at chess-results

Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, photo from official website

Turnament kejuaraan catur FIDE zonal 3.3 akhirnya memang dimenangkan oleh grandmaster Le Quang Liem dari Vietnam. Di zone 3.3 yang memang hanya terdiri dari negara-negara ASEAN, selepas pindahnya Wesley So ke Amrik, jelas tinggal Le Quang Liem satu-satunya pecatur  yang  paling kuat di sini dengan rating 2676. Rekan seangkatannya Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son menjadi unggulan kedua dengan rating 2659 sekaligus pemenang kedua, disusul pecatur Singapore ex-China grandmaster Zhang Zhong di urutan ketiga. Semua sejalan dengan rating yang mereka kantongi, menandakan memang sulit ada kekuatan lain untuk menembus barikade pecatur handalan di zone ini. 

Di bagian puteri adalah International Master Nguyen Pham Le Thao yang berhasil menyelip dua pecatur unggulan di atasnya, yaitu pecatur Mongolia Munguntuul Batkhuyag dan Li Ruofan dari Singapore. Dari hasil ini, tiket menuju Piala Dunia Catur 2015 di Baku akan dipegang Le Quang Liem, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son dan Nguyen Pham Le Thao, Vietnam tampaknya berhasil menyapu habis jatah dari zone ini. Apakah kelak Indonesia ada harapan untuk menembus barikade pecatur-pecatur Vietnam?

Partai Catur GM Eugenio Torre vs GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son 0-1, Ho Chi Minh 2015
French Defence, Pembelaan Prancis "Steinitz variation"