Lai Ly Huynh, Vietnam’s world champion in standard chess, faced an early exit from the Jiuzu Dukang xiangqi tournament in Zhengzhou city, Henan province, China. The event, running from 9/1 to 8/2, featured six players. Despite his esteemed title, Ly Huynh lost his first four games in the rapid and blitz formats, a stark contrast to his standard chess prowess, effectively eliminating him from championship contention after just two days of play.

Lai Ly Huynh (top row, center) with five Chinese players at the Jiuzu Dukang tournament in Zhengzhou city, Henan province, China. Photo: GDChess

The six players were divided into two groups for the tournament: The Red General group, comprising Ly Huynh, Li Hanlin, and He Wenzhe; and the Black General group, with Cao Yanlei, Xu Guoyi, and Zhao Fanwei. Only the Red General group competed in the first phase. The format involved two players facing each other while a third waited, with players rotating. Each competitor started with four "lives," meaning four losses led to elimination. Rankings within each group were determined by the order of elimination. The top player from each group would advance to the final, while the second-place players would compete for third place. The two players finishing last in their respective groups would play for fifth place.

The tournament featured a rapid chess format, with each player allotted 20 minutes per game, plus 10 seconds increment per move (20+10). In the event of a rapid chess draw, a 5+3 blitz chess game would be played to determine a winner.

On the evening of 9/1, the first day of competition, Hanlin defeated Wenzhe in the opening rapid chess game. Ly Huynh then drew with Hanlin in rapid chess but lost the subsequent blitz game. In the third round, Ly Huynh lost to Wenzhe in their rapid chess encounter.

Ly Huynh's struggles continued on the evening of 10/1, the second day. He lost to Wenzhe and Hanlin in blitz games after drawing their rapid chess matches. Losing two lives each day, Vietnam's top player was eliminated from championship contention after just two days. Meanwhile, Hanlin, with three lives remaining, and Wenzhe, with two lives, were set to continue play on the evening of 11/1.

According to China's old Xiangqi Elo rating system, which includes players banned for match-fixing, Guoyi was ranked 16th, Fanwei 17th, Yanlei 21st, Hanlin 25th, and Wenzhe 68th.

Despite his early elimination from the main competition, Ly Huynh will still compete in the third phase, from 6/2 to 8/2. He will face the last-place player from the Black General group to vie for fifth place. However, the prize money for both fifth and sixth places is 5,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately 19 million VND). The champion will receive a significantly higher sum of 45,000 Chinese Yuan (approximately 170 million VND).

Prior to this event, Ly Huynh also suffered an 8-12 defeat at the Xuanqiu Daye tournament, where he played ten rapid chess games against Yanlei in Fujian. These tournaments are rapid and blitz chess formats, whereas Ly Huynh won the 2025 world championship in standard chess (90+30), highlighting a potential disparity in his performance across different game speeds.

Xuan Binh