Lai Ly Huynh, playing with the black pieces, faced Meng Fanrui at board one in the penultimate round. The winner of this match was highly likely to claim the championship. In the endgame, Fanrui gained an attacking advantage, holding one extra pawn and more mobile pieces. Ly Huynh defended well, capturing one of his opponent's pawns, though his own cannon became pinned. Computer analysis indicated only a slight advantage for Red until the Vietnamese representative made a critical mistake.

The board position after Fanrui's (Red) rook 2 to 4 move, threatening Ly Huynh's (Black) advisor 6. The optimal move for Black was advisor 6 advances 5. However, Ly Huynh played advisor 4 retreats 5.

This move was a major error, as the retreating advisor no longer blocked the red horse, allowing it to capture the black cannon.

After capturing the cannon, Red held a one-piece advantage with a mobile pawn.

The two players then exchanged rooks, and Fanrui quickly maneuvered his horse and pawns to secure a win in the endgame. This victory allowed Fanrui to maintain his lead. In the final round, the 17-year-old prodigy drew with So Lut Chai of Hong Kong, a result sufficient to earn him the gold medal with a total of 15 points after nine games.

Ly Huynh defeated his compatriot Nguyen Minh Nhat Quang in the final game, but it was not enough to secure a top three finish. Vietnam's number one player placed fourth with 13 points, accumulated from five wins, three draws, and one loss.

Lai Ly Huynh (left) before his match against Meng Fanrui in the eighth round of rapid xiangqi at the first Asian Intellectual Games, held at the Suntec City Convention and Exhibition Centre, Singapore, on the afternoon of 14/11. Photo: Tran Ngoc Long

The silver and bronze medals also went to two Chinese players, Wang Yubo and Yin Sheng, respectively, both scoring 14 points.

Other Vietnamese players included Phan Nguyen Cong Minh, who finished fifth with 13 points. Ha Van Tien, Ton That Nhat Tan, and Vo Minh Nhat scored 12 points each, placing ninth, tenth, and 14th respectively. Nhat Quang ranked 17th with 11 points.

The first Asian Intellectual Games 2025 took place in Singapore from 13/11 to 15/11, featuring five disciplines: xiangqi (Chinese chess), chess, Go, bridge, and speed Rubik's Cube.

In the xiangqi discipline, athletes competed in two events: rapid chess with a time control of 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move (15+10), and blitz chess with 5 minutes plus 3 seconds per move (5+3). Each event consisted of nine rounds played under the Swiss system, with total points determining the champion. In case of a tie in points, tie-break criteria were used to decide the rankings.

The nine rounds of the blitz chess event for xiangqi will take place tomorrow, 15/11, starting at 8h30 Hanoi time.

In the rapid chess event for chess, Le Tuan Minh, Vietnam's only representative, led after seven games with 6,5 points. Home player Tin Jingyao was second, also with 6,5 points, but had lower tie-break scores than Tuan Minh. The next two players, Dai Thuong Nhan (China) and Susanto Megaranto (Indonesia), both had 5,5 points. The final two games of the rapid chess event will be played on the morning of 15/11.

Xuan Binh