Ten-year-old chess player Nguyen Anh Khoi was Sunday crowned champion at the World Youth Chess Championships after securing a victory in the 10th round -- his tenth consecutive win at the event, held in Slovenia. The Vietnamese player beat Indian contender Ram Aravind in the Sunday match and grabbed the title regardless of the result of his last game, as he was already standing 1.5 points above the second ranked player. Anh Khoi was thus the most impressive member of the 12-player Vietnamese team at the championships, which ran between November 7 and 19, attracting 1,584 players who competed in the men’s and women’s U-8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 events. The 13th-seeded player defeated strong players from powerful chess nations including Russia, Serbia, Iran, Armenia, and Azerbaijan to achieve the outstanding ten victories in a row. “He started playing chess when he was six and always has been passionate about the sport,” said his mother, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao, via a phone call from Slovenia. Khoi has been studying chess with international master Nguyen Thanh Son, former champion of the Asian U-20 Chess Championships, and earned a gold medal at the National U-8 chess championships just one year after learning the sport. A year later he took home two gold medals at the Asian U-8 championship, and six more at the Southeast Asian edition. This is the sixth time a Vietnamese chess player has topped the world youth championships. The previous champions include Dao Thien Hai (World U-16 champion in 1993), Nguyen Thi Dung (U-12, 1994), Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (U-10, 2000), Le Quang Liem (U-14, 2005), and Tran Minh Thang (U-8, 2008). “But none was able to win the title with ten victories in a row like Khoi,” commented Vietnamese No.1 player Le Quang Liem, who is competing at the Fujairah International Chess Championship 2012 in the United Arab Emirates. Liem currently ranks 8 out of 58 with 4 points after 6 games. He drew Ma Qun of China in the latest game during the sixth round of the event earlier Monday.
More

In Vietnam, personal data, corporate documents sold widely on Internet
A report indicated a significant increase in cyberattacks, data breaches, and security vulnerabilities across the Southeast Asian country
Read more

FIFA bans Vietnamese football club from registering new players over unpaid wages for foreign coach
FIFA has banned Dong A Thanh Hoa FC from registering new players for three consecutive transfer windows
1 day ago
Lion City Sailors FC, Cong An Ha Noi FC announce historic partnership to honor Vietnam-Singapore relations
The highlight of this partnership will be an international friendly match in 2025
1 week ago
Marmoush fires Man City into FA Cup semis after Haaland limps off
The Norwegian made amends by equalizing four minutes into the second period before being forced off with an ankle injury
3 days ago
Vietnam stage remarkable comeback to beat Thailand, lift SE Asian football trophy in Bangkok
The Golden Dragons secured an aggregate 5-3 win over the Thais
2 months ago
PSG on verge of Ligue 1 title with 6-1 rout of Saint-Etienne
PSG sit top on 71 points, 21 clear of second-placed AS Monaco
4 days agoHighlights

Vietnamese sappers help rescue man trapped 5 days in Myanmar earthquake rubble
Vietnam deployed a 106-member rescue delegation to Myanmar on March 30
Latest news

Vietnamese sappers help rescue man trapped 5 days in Myanmar earthquake rubble
Vietnam deployed a 106-member rescue delegation to Myanmar on March 30

Myanmar earthquake toll crosses 3,000; forecast rains pose new threat for rescuers
The rains will add to the challenges faced by aid and rescue groups

Trump tariffs pile stress on ailing world economy
The impact on national economies is set to diverge widely

Ho Chi Minh City faces growing challenges from rapidly aging population
The city’s elderly population has been growing quickly since 2017

US Ambassador Knapper pays 1st visit to General Giap's grave in Vietnam's Quang Binh
His visit to Quang Binh was aimed at encouraging those involved in UXO clearance and war-remediation efforts

Dollar slides as investors seek safe havens after US tariffs
The highly anticipated tariff announcement sent shockwaves through markets, with global stocks sinking and investors scrambling to the safety of bonds as well as gold

Vietnamese military forces set to travel south for upcoming Reunification Day
The military parade and public march marking the anniversary are scheduled for 8:00 am on April 30 in downtown Ho Chi Minh City

US president announces high tariffs on Vietnam
'It is our declaration of economic independence'

Vietnam weighs lowering tariffs on US agricultural exports
The United States remains one of Vietnam’s most important agricultural trading partners

2 small whales wash ashore in central Vietnam, causing local concern
The back-to-back whale strandings have sparked concerns of trouble offshore