Goa, 8 November 2025 – Vietnam’s top grandmaster Le Quang Liem made a strong statement at the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025, defeating American player Jeffery Xiong with the black pieces in the first game of round three, moving one step closer to his best-ever result at the prestigious tournament.
Playing with black pieces, Super Grandmaster Le Quang Liem delivered a brilliant and composed performance to overcome American opponent Jeffery Xiong (Elo 2,649) in the opening game of round three at the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025. Despite starting on the defensive side, the Vietnamese star took control early and converted his positional advantage into a decisive victory after 53 moves.
Xiong opened with an aggressive setup, advancing his h-pawn to h4 and h5 before castling — a style reminiscent of AlphaZero’s attacking games. However, Quang Liem (Elo 2,729) responded confidently, pushing his pawns to g5 and f5, activating his knights and bishops to restrict his opponent’s king movement. By move 19, even though he was down one pawn, Quang Liem had already established a superior position, with his pieces far more active and coordinated.
From that point onward, the Vietnamese grandmaster systematically neutralized Xiong’s counterplay, gradually capturing white pawns and converting the advantage into a winning endgame. Facing a lost position two pawns down in a rook ending, Xiong resigned after 53 moves, giving Quang Liem a 1-0 lead in the two-game match.
With this result, Le Quang Liem only needs a draw in the second leg — where he will have the white pieces at 16:30 (Hanoi time) today — to secure his place in round four. His best performance at a Chess World Cup so far has been reaching the round of 16 (fourth round) in 2013 and 2019, but with this year’s expanded field of 206 participants, the fourth round now corresponds to the round of 16 (1/16) stage.
The draw bracket also appears favorable for Quang Liem. Top seeds Wesley So and Ian Nepomniachtchi have both been eliminated, leaving Anish Giri (Elo 2,769) as the only higher-rated player remaining in his half of the bracket — a potential opponent in round five. If Quang Liem advances, he will face either Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2,655) or Karthik Venkataraman (2,576) in the next round.
Another Vietnamese-born player, Nguyen Thai Dai Van (representing the Czech Republic, Elo 2,652), also performed well in round three, holding Nodirbek Yakubboev (Elo 2,689) to a draw with the black pieces.
The FIDE Chess World Cup 2025, held in Goa, India from November 1 to 27, features a total prize fund of USD 2 million. The knockout-format tournament awards three qualification spots for the 2026 Candidates Tournament. Le Quang Liem, seeded 13th based on his rating, continues to be one of Asia’s brightest hopes in this year’s competition.
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