Vietnamese chess player defeats 3 Chinese players at Shanghai Cup

The Shanghai Cup Xiangqi Masters Open Qualifying Tournament was set to take place on Saturday and Sunday, featuring nearly 200 of the world’s strongest chess players competing in men’s and women’s divisions.

The final round will be held in mid-September.

Quang is the Vietnamese representative in the men’s competition this year.

The Ho Chi Minh City-based player delivered an outstanding performance on the opening day, recording three wins, two draws, and just one defeat from six rounds.

All six of his opponents were Chinese players.

Quang began his campaign against Cao Yichen, a prominent player from Shanghai.

He produced an excellent performance to defeat his highly regarded opponent.

The challenge intensified in the following rounds.

The Vietnamese player lost to Jin Bo before drawing two consecutive games against two other Chinese players.

He then mounted an impressive comeback in the fifth round, defeating Liu Ming.

Quang followed that victory with another win over Liu Ziyang in the sixth round, capping a remarkable first day.

His results gave Quang 11 points, just three points behind the leader, Guo Fengda.

However, Quang does not need to focus on the leading Chinese players.

The tournament rules reserve four places in the final for international players, those from outside China.

In the standings for players from outside China, Quang currently occupies second place.

If he maintains his consistency in the games on Sunday, his chances of reaching the final are very high.

In the women’s division, Vietnam’s Nguyen Hoang Yen and a player from Malaysia currently lead the international-player standings, putting them in positions equivalent to qualification for the final.

At the highest level of xiangqi, the Shanghai Cup is regarded as one of the sport’s most prestigious tournaments, surpassed in stature only by competitions such as the Five Rams Cup and China’s national championship.

In terms of prize money, however, the Shanghai Cup is second to none.

The tournament offers a total purse of more than one million yuan (US$148,200), matching the prize fund of the Five Rams Cup.