A screenshot of Banh Gia Huy (L, 1st) and Nguyen Quoc Hy (L, 2nd), who secured Grandmaster norms at the 2026 Chess Olympiad.
Facing a strong Norwegian side, Vietnam’s young players produced an impressive result, defeating their opponents 3-1.
Beyond contributing to the team victory, both Hy and Huy completed the requirements for an international GM norm at the Olympiad.
Hy has been one of Vietnam’s standout performers throughout the tournament, maintaining an unbeaten individual record from the opening rounds.
After 10 demanding games in the open section, the 20-year-old recorded an impressive performance rating of 2,640.
His route to the GM norm included five games against highly rated Grandmasters, against whom he remained undefeated, recording two wins and three draws.
Before the 10th round, Hy had already defeated higher-rated Grandmasters Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis of Greece and Frode Urkedal of Norway.
He also held three other strong Grandmasters to draws: Jan Malek of Poland, Yahli Sokolovsky of Israel, and Mahdi Gholami Orimi of Iran.
His victory in the 10th round not only secured his first GM norm but also placed him among the relatively small group of Vietnamese players to achieve the feat at the highly competitive Chess Olympiad, following in the footsteps of established figures such as Le Quang Liem and Nguyen Duc Hoa.
Nguyen Quoc Hy (in red) has impressed Vietnamese fans at the 2026 Chess Olympiad. Photo: Vietnam Chess Federation
Like Hy, Huy maintained a strong level of performance, scoring 7.5 points from six wins, three draws, and one defeat to officially secure the norm.
Vietnam’s players now have another opportunity to add to their individual achievements when they face Kazakhstan at 5:00 pm (Vietnam time) on Sunday.
In particular, a victory for Dau Khuong Duy would see the 15-year-old player achieve the Grandmaster title.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s women continued their strong run, defeating Indonesia to move up to fifth place after 10 rounds of the Chess Olympiad.
The Vietnamese women’s team will have a chance to challenge for an Olympiad medal if they defeat China in their final match of the tournament.
Members of Vietnam's chess team left from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on September 13 for the world's biggest team chess event, hosted in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with five male players competing in the open section and five female players in the women's section.
The Olympiad features 11 rounds under the Swiss system.
The event is expected to set a participation record, following the 2024 Olympiad in Budapest, which drew nearly 200 countries.
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