A representative of the Vietnam Chess Federation confirmed the information with VnExpress on the afternoon of 3/6. The federation's president, Pham Van Tien, requested Nguyen Minh Thang to hand over his duties tomorrow morning, 4/6.
Additionally, the president will soon convene a meeting of the federation's executive board to elect a new secretary general. The meeting date has not been set.
Minh Thang, 61, has held various chess-related positions for decades and led national teams in international competitions. His resignation comes just weeks after he faced criticism regarding issues within the federation.
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Nguyen Minh Thang at a chess tournament at Foreign Trade University, Hanoi, on 29/5/2023. *Photo: FTU Times* |
In recent weeks, the domestic chess community has seen numerous dissenting opinions from top players concerning the national team's operational mechanisms. The most intense debate erupted over the selection process for the 2026 Chess Olympiad team.
Grandmaster Pham Le Thao Nguyen publicly reported that team registration was conducted via a chat group over a short weekend period. According to the female player, she and Grandmaster Luong Phuong Hanh were not included in the final roster due to registering a few hours late, despite having arranged their own funding for the tournament.
The incident sparked extensive debate within the chess community. Many argued that the selection process needed to be more transparent and announced earlier with clear criteria.
A few days later, Grandmaster Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son posted a lengthy open letter on his personal page, confirming his decision to stop playing standard chess for the Vietnamese national team after more than 20 years.
According to Truong Son, many national players over the past decade have had to cover most of their international competition expenses, and manage their own professional and logistical preparations, while the selection mechanism lacked transparency and stability.
In a subsequent discussion with VnExpress, Truong Son further stated that Vietnamese chess is gradually falling behind its Asian rivals. In 2016, the Vietnamese men's team ranked third in Asia by average Elo, and the women's team ranked fourth; currently, both teams are only among the top six strongest teams in the region.
Besides the disputes over national team selection, the federation also faces another issue concerning chess coach and teacher training courses.
On 23/5, FIDE sent a document requesting the Vietnam Chess Federation to cooperate in verifying issues related to two chess teacher and coach training courses held in Hai Phong and TP HCM. According to the document, in addition to the announced tuition fee of 3,5 million VND per person, some trainees reported having to pay extra to qualify for FIDE certificates. Minh Thang was mentioned by FIDE during the verification process. To date, FIDE and related parties have not announced official conclusions regarding the incident.
Xuan Binh
