In the second leg of Round 3 held on November 8, the Vietnamese GM faced Jeffery Xiong again after defeating him in the first leg to gain an early advantage.

Holding the white pieces gave Liem an additional edge, allowing him to take the initiative with the Catalan Opening, a trademark strategy of his. This opening not only helped him maintain a solid defensive structure but also applied consistent attacking pressure, forcing Xiong into a cautious stance.

Despite being in a must-win situation, the American grandmaster failed to break through Liem’s tight defence.

After 40 moves of strategic battle, Xiong could not gain any positional advantage and eventually agreed to a draw in an endgame he found no way to win. With this result, Liem won the match 1.5–0.5 on aggregate, securing his place in Round 4 of the World Cup.

His next opponent will be the winner of the match between Daniel Deac Bogdan (Romania, Elo 2,655) and Karthik Venkataraman (India, Elo 2,579). By reaching Round 4, Liem has already guaranteed himself at least US$17,000 in prize money.

The FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 is getting underway in Goa, India, from October 31 to November 27, with the participation of 206 players worldwide.

This marks the 11th edition of the Chess World Cup. The winner, runner-up, and third-place finisher will qualify for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, the next stage in the cycle to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship.

Le Quang Liem holds seasoned opponent in Chess World Cup opener

VOV.VN - Vietnamese Grandmaster Le Quang Liem Le Quang Liem on November 4 began his campaign at the 2025 FIDE World Cup in India with a draw against seasoned Georgian grandmaster Baadur Jobava.