Two Vietnamese chess players dominate ASEAN championships

Nguyen Thi Mai Hung, 21, has won the ASEAN Women category at the 3rd ASEAN Championships in Indonesia. Photo credit: Chessdom

Vietnamese chess players Nguyen Anh Khoi and Nguyen Thi Mai Hung secured top titles at the JAPFA 3rd ASEAN Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday.

In the ASEAN Open category, Khoi, 13, was the youngest player and ranked ninth among 12 players with 2,378 Elo points.

After ten rounds, he gained six points and was 0.5 point behind the top seed Garcia Jan Emmanuel from the Philippines.

In the 11th round, Khoi defeated host player Susanto Megaranto after four hours to secure a total of seven points and won the title.

“From Indonesia, he called home and said the victory is a gift for my birthday,” his mother Thanh Thao told local media in Ho Chi Minh City.

Nguyen Anh Khoi, 13, competes at the event. Photo credit: Chessdom.

Khoi’s coach, Dao Thien Hai, 37, also competed at the event and finished with a runner-up title. Hai and Khoi earlier had a draw.

In the ASEAN Women category, the No.3 seed Nguyen Thi Mai Hung secured the top title after being undefeated in 11 matches.

The 21-year-old player from the northern province of Bac Giang finished with nine points after seven wins and four draws, including a draw with No.1 seed Janelle Mae Frayna of the Philippines.

Frayna, who finished second in the category, has a higher Elo ranking than Hung.

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