Silver Le Quang Liem Comes Back To Prague
The Masters tournament is the highlight of the Festival and questions about the roster start popping up months before the event begins. In this article, we reveal some of the first participants. Two of them have already placed second in the Masters, one won last year Challengers, and another is a fixture in Czech chess, holding a long-standing lead in the national rankings.
The year is 2022 and Prague welcomes Vietnam’s top player, Le Quang Liem with his wife, to the June PICF. He advances smoothly through the Masters tournament and his total score of 6 points secures him a silver spot – just half a point behind the winner, Pentala Harikrishna. „It was my first classical competition in over two years, so I did not know what to expect. Fortunately, I scored +3 with some nice games and finished second place,“ Liem recalls, adding: „I also had time to explore the beautiful city of Prague. Overall, I had very good memories with this event.“ At the award ceremony, little did Le Quang Liem know that within a month, he would begin a three-year reign in Biel.
Now ranked #15 in the world, he is returning to Prague after 3 years to compete on the main stage of the Prague International Chess Festival. His first game will take place in the main hall of the Don Giovanni Hotel on Wednesday, 26 February 2025. When asked about his plans, he modestly shares: „It will be my second time in Prague. The tournament will be very challenging again with lots of great players. I am looking forward to trying my best with fighting games and hopefully an even better result than last time."
Czech colours will be defended by the country‘s #1, David Navara, and his national team and club colleague, Thai Dai Van Nguyen, who has held the #2 in the Czech rankings for several years. David secured fifth place in this year’s Masters, with a standout performance and a win against Gukesh. Just a month later, Gukesh won the Candidates Tournament, and in the end of November he will challenge the current world champion, Ding Liren, for the chess crown.
Even years seem to favour Van Nguyen. He claimed his first bronze medal at the Masters in 2022, and at this year’s Festival, he even improved his position. Even though the first two rounds did not go as expected, in the remaining seven rounds he showcased amazing skills. He won three games, stayed undefeated in the others, and achieved a final score that earned him the silver medal. Thai also excelled at the Chess Olympiad Budapest, where he won a gold medal for the best individual result on board two. Will he stay at the top of his in the odd-numbered year of 2025?
A new chapter is unfolding in Prague for 15-year-old Turkish prodigy, Ediz Gurel. He first appeared as a player in the 2020 Futures tournament, where he tied for first place with Czech player Václav Finěk. This year he was invited to the Challengers tournament, seized this opportunity and delivered an outstanding performance. From the start, it was clear that he had his sights set on the top spot. His neck-and-neck competition with Anton Korobov came to a dramatic conclusion in the final round when they faced each other. In a nerve-wracking game, Gurel emerged victorious, clinching the top spot in the Challengers tournament. In February, he will write the next chapter of his chess journey – this time in the Masters.
The 7th year of the Festival is just four months away (February 25 to March 7, 2025). We send a warm invitation to every fan to visit the Don Giovanni Hotel Prague and remind those contemplating participation that the Open and rating tournaments registrations are currently in full swing.