Interview with GM Le Quang Liem – 4th Kolkata GM Open Winner

Q How does it feel to win the strongest Open in Asia

A very happy feeling. Because in the beginning I did not think that I would get the first prize of the strongest Open in Asia

Q Wins over top seed Mamedyarov, Asian Champion Ganguly and penultimate round win over Uzbek GM Filippov. How you managed to produce the right results at crucial stages of the tournament.

Before every game, I always prepare carefully both chess and psychology. I always keep calm and confidence during playing. I believe that all of these things bring the best conditions to me

Q Six wins and four draws fetching outright title, and a rating performance of 2777.Has this been your dream event.

I was 14th seed of the strongest open in Asia and there were so many strong players there. Therefore, this victory is a very nice result as my dream

Q At which point of this event you felt the title would be yours.

After winning Ganguly (round 7), I felt that I had a good chance to touch the cup. And after winning Filippov (round 9), I knew that I kept it firmly.

Q Which were your difficult moments at Kolkata.

Before round 9, Filippov and I had same points. I had to consider many things before to decide choosing opening. The result proved that I decided right

Q Where would you place this Kolkata title victory in your career.

This is a very interesting question. This Kolkata title victory is my first victory at the tournament having rating >2700. So it is a very important and memorable stamp in my career

Q. How Vietnam has become a force to reckon with in Asian chess recent times

Now many young players have chess level better than past time. We believe that Vietnamese position in FIDE ranking will be improved in the future

Q On producing consistent top class Vietnamese juniors in the boys and girls section

Now Government takes care of junior players. So Vietnam has good results in this group

Q In the junior level we keep hearing more of Vietnam players and not in the later years. Why.

Maybe income from chess is low in my country. So, many people play chess when they are young. But when growing up, they earn their living by other jobs

Q About yourself and Ngyen Ngoc Truong Son being the strongest juniors as well being Vietnam NO.1 & 2 respectively

I began playing chess at 7 years old and got GM title at 15 years old. Truong Son began playing chess at 4 years old and got GM title at 14 years old. We got some medals from Asian Youth Championship and World Youth Championship. We have been being VietNam No.1 & No.2 since January/2008. We are close friends and always share chess information with each other

Q Whom do you train with and how

I mostly work on chess myself. I study chess from foreign documents and from some games on internet. I play chess on website ICC, Playchess. In that duration, many people in my country and overseas help me. I thank all of them very much

Q Do you have a regular practice partner.

No. In Vietnam there is no suitable coach for GM’s level. Sometimes Government invites a high level foreign trainer for a short time for us. But in general we have to work ourselves. I often practice with my friends and computer.

Q Why there is large rating gap between the Vietnamese No. 1 and the 100th player viz., 2602 to 1908

It’s rare for Vietnamese players to go overseas for participating tournaments because of no having sponsor. Every year, there is only 1 rated tournament: the National Chess Championship, so they don’t have many chances to change their rating.

Q By superb organization of the World Youth Chess 2008 Vietnam has set high organizing standards. How much has it helped chess grow in Vietnam.

As stated above, it’s rare for Vietnamese players to go overseas for participating tournaments in order to raise their rating. Therefore the organization of the World Youth Chess 2008 is a good chance for local players approaching with World Chess level

Q How does he see his visit to Kolkata Open, India

I always feel very pleasant and get good results in India. Specially, I am very happy when going on Ho Chi Minh Sarani Road at Kolkata. Ho Chi Minh is my country leader’s name. And with this victory, I wonder if Kolkata is a lucky place for me.

Q How is sponsorship climate for chess in Vietnam..

Generally it is difficult. People do not care much about this mind sport. Only some companies sponsor for chess. Main sponsor is Government. So, there are only some top players who are taken care of.

Q Do you have any corporate sponsorship

My sponsorship is Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism from Vietnam country and Ho Chi Minh city

Q Plans and targets for the coming year

I have just passed into an University and asked to keep this result until next year. If they agree, I will have much more time to attend in chess tournaments and try raising my rating to 2700. In November 2009, I will have World Cup tournament. It is the most important event for me in this year.

Q Has Grandmaster title made you a full time professional. How do you look at your chess career from here?

I got Grandmaster title in 2006. In past time, I had spent more time for study at high school. Actually I have just started working on chess seriously after the University Entrance Exam (6 weeks before Kolkalta Open). Now I spend 4 hours per day for chess. I am still not a professional yet. However, in the future, maybe I will think more about this career.

Q Your message for our viewers.

I hope that chess will be more popular not only in Vietnam but also all over the world. For young players: if you like chess, then keep working and you will achieve success!

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