After finishing 8th out of 10 players in the rapid portion, Quang Liem significantly improved his performance in the first day of the blitz tournament on August 15. The top Vietnamese player was among the highest scorers, earning 6 out of a possible 9 points, tied with Wesley So, Grigoriy Oparin, Levon Aronian, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Quang Liem began the day with three consecutive victories against Leinier Dominguez, Fabiano Caruana, and Sam Shankland. He then drew his next three matches against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Oparin, and Aronian. In the seventh round, the 34-year-old grandmaster, playing black, defeated the reigning world champion in classical chess, Gukesh.

Le Quang Liem during a blitz chess match at the St. Louis Grand Chess Tour in Missouri, USA, on 15/8/2025. Photo: GCT

Le Quang Liem during a blitz chess match at the St. Louis Grand Chess Tour in Missouri, USA, on 15/8/2025. Photo: GCT

Quang Liem opted for the Cozio Defense against the Ruy Lopez opening. The two players quickly exchanged queens, leading to an endgame where the Vietnamese grandmaster had a significant time advantage. He proceeded to maneuver his rook and capture white pawns as his Indian opponent made several weak moves. The game concluded after 57 moves, with Quang Liem having three extra pawns.

This marks Quang Liem's first over-the-board victory against a reigning world chess champion. He previously defeated Magnus Carlsen while the Norwegian was the reigning champion during the Champions Chess Tour on 23/4/2022. However, that match was played online. Throughout Quang Liem's career, the chess world has seen six world champions: Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Carlsen, Ding Liren, and Gukesh.

19-year-old Gukesh claimed the world championship title late last year after defeating Ding in the World Chess Championship final. The Indian prodigy primarily focuses on classical chess and isn't as highly regarded in rapid or blitz formats. Quang Liem, on the other hand, is a former world blitz champion (2013).

In his remaining two blitz matches, Quang Liem lost to Wesley So and drew with Abdusattorov. With 6 points from the first day of blitz chess, he moved up to tie with Gukesh for the tournament, both with 13 points. Aronian leads with 19 points, followed by Caruana with 17.

The tournament will conclude on August 16 with the final 9 rounds of blitz chess. While his chances of winning the tournament are slim, Quang Liem can still improve his overall standing if he maintains his current form. He will face Gukesh again in the blitz portion, giving the 19-year-old champion a chance for revenge.

The Grand Chess Tour (GCT) is a series of elite over-the-board chess tournaments. This year's GCT consists of six stages: two classical tournaments, three rapid and blitz tournaments, and a finals. After three stages, Alireza Firouzja leads the tour despite not winning any individual tournaments. World number one Magnus Carlsen has only participated in one stage, which he won.

The St. Louis stage features a rapid and blitz format. Each player competes in 9 rapid games and 18 blitz games, with points awarded for each. Players have 25 minutes per rapid game with an additional 10 seconds added after each move (25+10). The blitz format is 5+2. The tournament boasts a prize fund of 175,000 USD, with the winner receiving 40,000 USD.

Xuan Binh