Playing black and second, Lai Ly Huynh maintained his undefeated streak by securing another victory against Chong. After 7 rounds, the 35-year-old has accumulated 12 points with five wins and two draws. He is tied on points with the two home favorites, Meng Fanrui and Yin Sheng, but leads the standings due to a superior Buchholz score (the sum of opponents' scores).
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Lai Ly Huynh (left) during his match against Chong Heung Ming in round 7 of the 2025 World Xiangqi Championship in Shanghai, China on 25/9/2025. Photo: TLKD |
Lai Ly Huynh (left) during his match against Chong Heung Ming in round 7 of the 2025 World Xiangqi Championship in Shanghai, China on 25/9/2025. Photo: TLKD
In round 7, Meng Fanrui, playing first, was held to a draw by Li Dezhi (Malaysia). Meanwhile, Yin Sheng, playing second, defeated Ge Jen Yi (Taiwan). These results propelled Yin Sheng to second place on tiebreaks, pushing the 17-year-old prodigy down to third.
Vietnam's other representative, Nguyen Thanh Bao, has no remaining hope of reaching the final after drawing with Li Mingjian (USA). Bao's draw was significant as it improved Huynh's tiebreak score. Bao had previously lost to both Meng and Yin but hadn't played against Huynh. A win for Bao would have boosted the Chinese players' tiebreak scores while the 47-year-old was already out of contention for the final.
The eighth and final round before the final begins at 6 PM today, 25/9. The two Chinese players will face each other on board one, with Meng Fanrui playing black and needing a win to avoid likely missing the final.
Huynh, playing red against Li Dezhi, needs only a draw to secure his place in the final. Meanwhile, Thanh Bao will face Chong, who has played Huynh but not Meng or Yin. Therefore, a loss for Thanh Bao against Chong would further benefit Huynh's tiebreak score.
The 2025 World Xiangqi Championship is taking place from 22/9 to 27/9 in Shanghai, China. The men's standard individual event features 51 players, each playing 9 rounds in a Swiss-system tournament. The two highest-scoring players after 8 rounds will advance to the final. The remaining players will compete in round 9 to determine their final rankings. China has won all 18 previous editions of this event.
In each game, players have 90 minutes plus 30 seconds increment per move. A win is worth two points, a draw one point, and a loss zero points. Tiebreaks are determined by: Buchholz score, head-to-head record, number of wins, number of wins with black, number of games played with black, score against the strongest opponent, number of technical errors, and finally, previous round ranking.
The final will take place at 12 PM Saturday, 27/9, Hanoi time.
Xuan Binh
