Third place finish for Le Quang Liem at Dubai Open

During his ninth match of the tournament, despite not enjoying the advantage of having the first move, Liem successfully beat grandmaster Pichot Alan of Argentina (Elo rating 2566) after 65 moves.

The victory earned Liem a total of seven points after nine matches.

The conclusion of the tournament saw a dramatic ending with eight of the leading chess players including Liem, finishing on the same number of points. Despite this, Liem was ranked in third place at the Dubai Open due to tie-breakers.

First place went to Matlakov Maxim of Russia while second place went to Nodirbek of Uzbekistan.

Aside from the competition itself, the two victories that Liem enjoyed in the eighth and ninth matches helped gain the grandmaster 5.8 Elo points. The strong ending to the Dubai Open therefore saw him improve his Elo rating enough to move back into the list of super grandmasters.

Meanwhile, victory over Hedman Erik of Sweden (Elo rating 2385) in the ninth match helped Nguyen Anh Khoi finish in 20th place with a total of 6 points.

The 17-year-old chess player increased his Elo points by 4.3 points, although that was not enough for him to be given the third grandmaster title.