After Moscow and Aeroflot Open, by Yana Melnikova
Le Quang Liem
Le Quang Liem of Vietnam, winner of the two major international tournaments in Russia – Moscow Open and Aeroflot Open, shared in an interview with Yana Melnikova his impressions of Moscow and how he is preparing for a competition.
Yana Melnikova – Liem, congratulations on your victory in the Aeroflot Open. In the recently concluded tournament Moscow Open, you also had excellent result – took the bronze after sharing first place. Tell us why you decided to play in Moscow?
Le Quang Liem – Russia is the country of chess, and here I can play against very strong chess players. I liked both of the tournaments. They are organized at a high level, very professional, very ambitious. I want to highlight the “Aeroflot” – I believe this is the strongest open tournament in the world. Next year I will gladly play in Moscow again.
Yana Melnikova – Is the victory in the Aeroflot Open the biggest success in your career?
Le Quang Liem – I think so. But earlier, I also successfully competed in strong tournaments – for example, in 2009 I won major open tournaments in India and China, and many competitions in my own country.
Yana Melnikova – Tell us about your road to success. With whom do you work?
Le Quang Liem – I have been playing chess since childhood. Most of the time I work on my own, but I do have a few trainers. About a year ago I began to collaborate with GM Evgeny Bareev, and I believe that my good results arrived mostly thanks to him. Evgeny did a lot to help me to progress, he can identify weaknesses in my game and help me make steps for the overall improvement.
Yana Melnikova – Do you play on the Internet chess zones? What is the role of the blitz games?
Le Quang Liem – I play on ICC and on Playchess. I try not to stay online for a very long time because I don’t think that playing blitz will help me increase my chess level. For me it is purely entertainment, I go to play a couple of games only when there is spare time.
Yana Melnikova – How much do you work on chess?
Le Quang Liem – On average, about four hours a day.
Yana Melnikova – What are your future plans, objectives for the near future?
Le Quang Liem – My goal is to reach the level of 2700, as soon as possible. I won in Aeroflot and got the opportunity to play in Dortmund. This is my chance to show the skill at a high level, and I will work very hard to make a proper preparation.
Yana Melnikova – Did you like it in Moscow?
Le Quang Liem – Yes, of course! The people are very friendly. There is a lot of snow though, quite different from my country.
Mainstream media about Le Quang Liem’s victory at Aeroflot Open