Eighteen-year-old chess player Phan Huy Hoang wins the world chess gold medal, Vietnamese chess achieves a major victory.
(GLO) - With an undefeated record after seven rounds, 18-year-old chess player Phan Huy Hoang won the title of best individual player in the men's team competition at the 2026 World Chess Championship in Singapore. The Vietnamese team also finished the tournament with a silver medal in the men's team competition.
Phan Huy Hoang became one of the leading figures in Vietnamese chess at the international tournament held in Singapore from November 10 to 13.
The player born in 2008 scored 13 points after 7 rounds of competition, including 6 wins and 1 draw, thus taking first place in the individual standings of the men's team competition.
The Vietnamese player did not lose a single match in the 7 rounds of the competition, including a draw against China's Liu Baihong.
In the remaining rounds, Huy Hoang won them all. Notably, the eighteen-year-old also defeated Phung Gia Tuan, the 2026 Asian champion from Hong Kong, China.
In the final match, Huy Hoang continued to demonstrate his prowess by defeating Hong Huc Tang of Chinese Taipei, despite playing second, thus completing an undefeated streak in the tournament.9
This result allowed the Vietnamese team to overtake Hong Kong and improve their position in the standings.
In the team competition, China won the championship with 13 points, while Vietnam finished second with 11 points.
Nguyen Minh Nhat Quang also achieved a remarkable individual result, finishing in 3rd place in the rankings with 12 points, tied with Chinese player Nhu Nhat Thuan, but ranked lower based on the tie-breaking criteria.
The 5th World Open Xiangqi Championships took place at the Chinese Cultural Centre in Singapore, featuring men's team, women's team and Under-18 individual competitions.
At the same time, the 6th World Youth Chess Championship was taking place, with Under 12 and Under 16 categories for both boys and girls.