Lai Ly Huynh won the world chess championship, creating a miracle for Vietnam.

Lai Ly Huynh is the 2025 World Chess Champion. Photo: Thang Long Ky Dao

The World Xiangqi Championship was established in 1990 and is held every two years. In the 18 finals that have taken place, China has absolutely dominated the event considered the most important: men's individual standard chess. Meanwhile, Vietnamese Xiangqi has only had two runner-up finishes: Nguyen Thanh Bao in 2009 and Lai Ly Huynh in 2023.

It was not until this year that the monopoly of Chinese chess was broken. And the person who created the miracle was none other than the top Vietnamese chess player, Lai Ly Huynh. In the final match of the men's individual standard chess event that just ended, Lai Ly Huynh faced off against the young player of the host country, Doan Thang.

Lai Ly Huynh was at a disadvantage when he held the black pieces and went last. Doan Thang took advantage of going first to deploy the two middle cannons (first cannon) strategy. This 20-year-old player dominated the middle game when he forced Lai Ly Huynh's rook and knight into the corner of the board, creating a dangerous attacking position.

However, Doan Thang made a mistake in the late middle game and lost his knight. Lai Ly Huynh discovered his opponent's problem and accepted the loss of his cannon to break Doan Thang's defense. In the endgame, Lai Ly Huynh moved his pawn across the river, coordinated his chariot, cannon and general to attack continuously.

At this stage, Doan Thang no longer had enough troops to defend and continuously lost important troops, causing the red general to lose the necessary protection. In the final minutes, Doan Thang was lost in thought before deciding to shake hands and admit defeat to Lai Ly Huynh.

This is a well-deserved victory for Lai Ly Huynh after a bitter defeat in 2023. Two years ago, Lai Ly Huynh had the advantage over Manh Than in the final match but was overturned by his opponent and lost.

Lai Ly Huynh was born in 1990 in Vinh Long . He won the national chess championship 6 times and is currently the number 1 chess player in Vietnam.