Liem, the top fourth seed and the Aeroflot defending champion, earned one point when defeating Boris (Elo rating 2609) after only 32 moves. Boris was the champion of the Baku Open 2009 tournament, held in Azerbaijan.

This year’s tournament was divided into three groups. Group A for grandmasters with the Elo ratings of over 2549, group B for those with the Elo ratings of between 2299 and 2550, and group C for those with the Elo ratings below 2,300.

Three Vietnamese grandmasters are participating in the tournament, namely Le Quang Liem (Group A), Le Quang Long and Van Huy (Group B). Group A winner will receive a cash prize worth EUR20,000.

In Group B, Quang Long (2316) snatched victory over his rival international master Oleg Gladyszev (2548). In addition, Van Huy (2473) held a draw to Bence Szabo (2330) from Hungary.

In the second match the same day Liem was held draw with Venezuelan rival Eduardo Iturrizaga (2649). He will face Viorel Iordachescu (2651) from Moldova in the next match.