Lai Ly Huynh reveals the secret to defeating Chinese opponents and becoming world champion

(Dan Tri) - New world champion Lai Ly Huynh said that the title he just achieved has given him confidence and increased his desire to conquer. At the same time, he believes in the development prospects of Vietnamese chess.

On the afternoon of September 27, Lai Ly Huynh made history for Vietnamese chess. His victory over the very strong Chinese opponent Doan Thang helped him win the men's individual standard chess championship.

This is not only the most important content in chess championships of different scales, but also marks the first time a Vietnamese player has won the world championship. This is the first time a non-Chinese athlete has won this content at the world championship, after 18 consecutive times before that they dominated the men's individual standard content.

Yesterday afternoon (September 29), not long after returning to Vietnam with the world championship title, "chess king" Lai Ly Huynh had a talk with Dan Tri reporter.

Lai Ly Huynh shows off his 2025 world championship certificate to coach Nguyen Thanh Tung (Photo: Giang Le).

Surpassing Chinese super players

The global chess community knows how difficult it is to win the world championship in the men's individual standard chess event against Chinese players. More specifically, could you talk about the strength of Chinese players in this sport?

- The strength of Chinese chess lies in the fact that they have many strong players of equal quality. Any Chinese player competing in the top tournaments has the potential to reach the highest position.

Next, the successor force of Chinese chess is very abundant. They always have very strong young players, ready to replace their seniors. Even at an even younger age, Chinese players are trained in Chinese chess from a very young age, so they always "produce" many good players in this subject.

In comparison, Vietnamese chess players are also good, we do not lack outstanding faces. But in terms of number and uniformity, Chinese chess is still considered higher.

In the context of always having to face a series of strong Chinese players at the world championship, what is the secret that helped you win the championship this year?

- Actually, there is no special secret. To achieve success, especially to reach the highest position, any professional athlete needs to have many factors combined in major tournaments. I have to do what I need to do professionally and psychologically. At the same time, at the recent world championship, I also had the element of luck.

Lai Ly Huynh at the 19th World Chess Championship in 2025 (Photo: BS).

Fortunately, this year alone, Chinese chess has faced some turmoil, with many of its strongest players being banned for corruption. And in a particular match like the championship match, there are also some factors that can determine the outcome of the match, such as mentality and performance.

My opponent made a mistake and I took advantage of it. Honestly, I never dared to think that just one win and one successful tournament would prove that I was stronger than the top Chinese players.

Hope for a boost for Vietnamese chess

But surely his world championship will create a boost for Vietnamese chess in the coming years, our players from now on will be more confident that we have reached the highest position?

- I myself also hope that the title I win will create a big boost both mentally and professionally for the Vietnamese chess community, helping chess in our country develop even more strongly.

I hope that the title I just got, and the title that Vietnamese chess just got, will help people pay more attention to this sport, the community will pay more attention to chess, businesses will invest more, and the socialization will develop more strongly...

Lai Ly Huynh's world championship title could give a boost to Vietnamese chess (Photo: BS).

Once the community is interested in chess, we will have more resonance to develop. But of course, to reach a higher position, we still have a lot of work to do in the coming time.

You yourself once competed in China, the world's number one chess powerhouse. What do you think about their development in this sport?

- I played for the Hangzhou youth team (China) from 2016 to 2017. Then, in 2019, I played for the Jiangsu Chess Academy team (China). Tournaments in China, even youth tournaments, are still very large in scale and highly competitive.

As I mentioned, Chinese chess players are trained from a very young age. Even in elementary school, Chinese students are exposed to chess. They include this subject in their formal lessons.

They have very large academies that specialize in training chess players. Not only do they have the Jiangsu chess academy, but most of the big cities in China have academies of similar size. So the competition for chess in their country is very high.

Intense desire to conquer

On the evening of September 28, after arriving at Tan Son Nhat Airport (HCMC), he said that he won the world championship on the day his little daughter turned one year old. Is that the reason why he wants to direct his children to a chess career in the future?

- The fact that I won the world championship on my daughter's first birthday is a rare coincidence. However, to become a professional chess player requires more luck. If my children are truly passionate and want to pursue a career in chess, I am willing to guide them.

But if my children do not pursue the path of becoming professional chess players, it is because of their lack of fate. I will absolutely respect their choice and not force them.

Lai Ly Huynh with his wife and 3 children (Photo: Giang Le).

I am fortunate to have the support of my family when pursuing the path of professional chess, always having a solid rear for me to wholeheartedly pursue my passion. Therefore, I understand that to become a professional chess player, athletes must have a balance in many factors and must have a synthesis of many factors.

Now that you are a world champion, is your mindset and goals different from before you achieved this glory?

- I am proud but not satisfied. I am confident but I still keep the desire to conquer titles. If I lose this desire, it will be very dangerous for me and for professional athletes in general. If I lose the desire, I will lose the direction to strive.

I tell myself that every day I wake up, I will remind myself to try harder, so that I will not stop. My goal is to defend the world championship title in the next tournament. I have the confidence after winning the world championship once, and I will always be hungry to win this title again.

Thank you for the conversation and good luck!

About Lai Ly Huynh

Lai Ly Huynh was born in 1990 in Vinh Long, is an international grandmaster in Chinese chess. He has won the men's individual standard championship six times (2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2025). He won the national strong opponents championship once in the men's standard chess championship (2018), and won two gold medals at the 2022 National Sports Festival (one gold medal in men's individual standard chess, one gold medal in men's individual blitz chess).

Lai Ly Huynh won two SEA Games gold medals (2022 men's rapid chess team gold medal, 2023 men's individual standard gold medal), 2025 world men's individual standard gold medal, 2022 world men's team gold medal, 2022 men's individual rapid chess gold medal, 2023 men's individual rapid chess gold medal.

Ly Huynh has a wife and 3 children. The oldest son is 12 years old, the second daughter is 9 years old and the youngest daughter just turned 1 year old.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/lai-ly-huynh-tiet-lo-bi-quyet-ha-doi-thu-trung-quoc-va-vo-dich-the-gioi-20250930021024550.htm