VietNamNet Bridge – Grand Master (GM) Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Viet Nam stayed in top place despite a draw yesterday in the penultimate round of the World Youth Chess Championships.

Little bobby: GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son eases after a move in the World Youth Chess Championship 2008.

Son tied Maxim Matlakov of Russia on board three of the Open U-18 category. It was an unexpected outcome as Son is a grand master with an Elo rating of 2,567 and Matlakov is an international master (IM) with an Elo rating of 2,490.

It was the third draw for the Vietnamese former world U-10 champion. His previous ties were in rounds four and six.

Son's only loss at the tournament was on Tuesday when he was beat by FIDE Master TerSahakyan Samvel of Armenia.

The defeat slowed Son's run for the title, where he was joined by three other players, including his teammate, GM Le Quang Liem, who had a draw yesterday against Samvel.

Liem did not have a good start at the championship; he was defeated in the first round by China's Ma Qun and tied in rounds three and five.

However, the former world U-14 title-holder made a strong comeback and was now among the top four players, including Samvel and Ivan Saric of Croatia, who all had 7.5 points.

IM Saric was tied by IM Cristian Chirila loan of Romania yesterday.

Based on the sub-index, Son was in first place, followed by Saric in second, Samvel in third and Liem fourth.

In the Open U-8, Viet Nam's Tran Minh Thang still led the pack with nine victories over ten rounds. He easily defeated Arya Omidi of Iran to strengthen his position in the rankings. Thang led his nearest rival, Liu Xiangyi of China, by one point.

The young Vietnamese master suffered only one loss, in the fifth round, to Alireza Olamaei of Iran.

In the girls' U-10, Vu Thi Dieu Ai also tied Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia. Ai was among three masters with eight points and was ranked in fourth. Goryachkina maintained a leading role in the group with 8.5 points.

In the girls' U-16, round-10, Women's FIDE Master (WFM) Le Hoang Tran Chau tied WFM Kristyna Havlikova of the Czech Republic in the fourth tie match for Viet Nam.

Chau had seven points and ranked fourth, only one point behind her two leading rivals.

In the Open U-12, Sayantan Das, with 8.5 points, was the clear leader.

He was closely followed by Vietnamese Le Minh Tuan, with 7.5 points, after a win over KhosIa Shiven of India. The victory pushed Tuan from the fifth place to the second spot yesterday.

In the girls' U-12, Bodda Pratyusha also rose to the top of her group with eight points.

This year was the first time Viet Nam won the right to host the World Youth Chess Championship 2008 (WYCC) in southern Ba Ria Vung Tau Province.

The WYCC 2008, which drew over 1,500 masters from 120 nations, was held from October 19-30 at the provincial Palace Hotel and the Sports Centre.

The WYCC 2008 was played using the Swiss System of 11 rounds and conducted in the under-8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 age groups.

After the final round today, the closing awards ceremonies will be aired live on VTV4.

(Source: Viet Nam News)