Le Tuan Minh has been dominating the elite chess scene. Photo: Supplied
"I'm actually worried about Minh Le (Le Tuan Minh) in matches lasting around two hours. I think I'd feel more comfortable without him," Hikaru Nakamura said at last week's Bullet Brawl tournament.
Chess.com published Nakamura's remarks.
The Japanese-American grandmaster Nakamura has won Bullet Brawl 71 times.
He currently ranks second in the world, behind Magnus Carlsen.
Nakamura's remarks identified Tuan Minh as a player he considers a formidable opponent.
International tournament results
Tuan Minh has recorded several strong results in online blitz and bullet chess tournaments over the past several months.
On June 9, he finished third at Titled Tuesday after recording seven wins and four draws in 11 games.
Chess.com organizes the tournament weekly.
It attracts leading grandmasters, including Magnus Carlsen, Nakamura, and Fabiano Caruana.
On July 25, Tuan Minh defeated Nakamura in a comeback victory at Bullet Brawl.
With 16 minutes remaining in the tournament, Tuan Minh was trailing Nakamura by 20 points.
The Vietnamese player subsequently earned 27 points, while Nakamura collected seven.
Both players finished with 159 points. Tuan Minh won the title on tiebreaks.
Chess.com journalist Jack Rodgers described the result as one of the most surprising comebacks in Bullet Brawl history.
On July 30, Tuan Minh won the gold medal in the Asian Blitz Championship in Hong Kong.
He finished all 13 games unbeaten, recording nine wins and four draws.
He also won the blitz gold medal at the ASEAN+ Age-Group Chess Championships 2026 in Singapore in August.
On August 18, Tuan Minh won Titled Tuesday for the 12th time.
He lost his opening game but subsequently won nine consecutive games. He also drew his final game to finish with 9.5 points from 11 rounds.
Tuan Minh finished ahead of Parham Maghsoodloo and Arjun Erigaisi on tiebreaks.
Chess.com journalist Nathaniel Green wrote an article titled 'Speedy Minh Le Wins 9 Straight To Take Titled Tuesday.'
Green highlighted Tuan Minh's speed in making decisions during the tournament.
His final two victories in the nine-game winning streak came after his opponents ran out of time, although the positions remained balanced.
In the 10th round, Tuan Minh defeated Marco Materia with 2.5 seconds remaining on his clock.
Just two days later, he won the 3+0 Thursday tournament.
He became the fifth player in history to win both Titled Tuesday and 3+0 Thursday in the same week.
The achievement placed Tuan Minh alongside renowned players such as Fabiano Caruana, Arjun Erigaisi, Denis Lazavik, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda.
Chess.com journalist Jeremy Kane praised Tuan Minh's performance, particularly his victory over Dmitrij Kollars.
During that game, Tuan Minh sacrificed both rooks to launch an attack that led to checkmate.
His recent performances have drawn attention to his tactical play, calculation speed, and decisions in critical positions.
Tuan Minh maintained his form in October.
On October 8, he won another 3+0 Thursday tournament.
Chess.com described his performance as having the 'Midas touch' after he scored 8.5 points in his first nine games.
On October 20, he finished seventh at Titled Tuesday with 8.5 points from 11 games.
He moved into the leading group after defeating Dmitry Andreikin and drawing twice with Nakamura in the final rounds.
However, he lost to Sina Movahed in the last game.
From law student to grandmaster
Le Tuan Minh was born in Hanoi in 1996 and started playing chess at the age of eight at the October 10 Sports School.
He attended the Foreign Language Specialized School before graduating from Hanoi Law University.
He won the national chess championship in 2020 and two gold medals at the 31st Southeast Asian Games.
Tuan Minh became Vietnam's 13th grandmaster in 2022.
Le Tuan Minh (L) has repeatedly defeated grandmasters. Photo: FIDE
Before earning the grandmaster title, Tuan Minh had already achieved notable results in online chess competitions.
In 2022, the Lichess platform praised him after he won 22 consecutive games at the Bullet Titled Arena.
The platform said he was capable of competing against the world's leading blitz and bullet players.
In 2024, he won an individual bronze medal on board three at the World Chess Olympiad.
He completed all 11 games without a loss, recording seven wins and four draws.
His performance rating for the tournament was equivalent to an Elo rating of 2,795.
Tuan Minh was previously described as the world's strongest international master.
He has since become a regular competitor in major international speed chess tournaments.
His recent tournament results have added to Vietnam's chess achievements and established him as a competitive opponent for leading international players.
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