Vietnamese chess made a huge accomplishment as the country finished seventh out of 150 contenders at the 2012 World Chess Olympiad, which wrapped up on Monday in Turkey. “The success of Vietnam at this year’s event comes from the best-ever team, whose strength is the combination of youth, power and experience,” Super grandmaster Le Quang Liem, who contributed hugely to the glorious victory for Team Vietnam, wrote to Tuoi Tre. “Each member has fought not only for the sake of themselves but for the final result of the whole team.” Liem said Olympiad is a special chess tournament, as it attracts participation from almost all of the super grandmasters, whose Elo rating is above 2700, in the world. Each country competes in the men’s and women’s events, with each team consisting of five players, including a substitute. They earn two points for a win, and one for a draw. Vietnam was seeded 27th at the event, and Liem and his teammates thus only set a goal to reach the top 20. “However, we have done more than that by securing 7th place, even higher than other strong European rivals such as Hungary, Azerbaijan, Germany, France, and England,” said Liem. In the 2008 Olympiad, held in Dresden, Germany, Vietnam finished in 9th place, a huge achievement, which insiders said may not be repeated. “But now we have set a new record in Vietnamese chess history. I’m very happy with my contribution to that.” Liem personally gained eight points after 10 matches (six wins and four draws), which he said is in line with his Elo 2787. The Vietnamese chess talent ranked fifth out of the strongest players at the event, which is his best result so far. “My ranking is higher than those of many famous players, including the world number 3 Kramnik Vladimir (Russia - Elo 2797), and number 8 Fabiano Caruana (Italy - Elo 2773). Liem said his most memorable match was against England’s number 1 player Michael Adams (Elo 2722). “The victory earned me 15 Elo points for next month’s ranking table of the World Chess Federation, helping me to return to the group of international super grandmasters,” he said.