Interesting interview with GM Liem

Interview with GM Le Quang Liem
After Moscow and Aeroflot Open, by Yana Melnikova
Report by Chessdom

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