Le Quang Liem wins the Biel Grandmaster Triathlon title held in Switzerland on July 26. (Photo: Biel International Chess Festival)

This is the best ranking ever achieved by the Ho Chi Minh City-born grandmaster.

He is also the first Vietnamese to enter the world’s top 15 players in FIDE rankings.

Carlsen Magnus led the FIDE rankings in August with an ELO of 2835, followed by Nakamura Hikaru and Caruana Fabiano of the US, Ding Liren of China, and Nepomniachtchi Ian of Russia to make up the top 5. 

Quang Liem ranked behind Aronian Levon of the US who came 14th in the world’s rankings. He was followed by Dominguez Perez Leinier, also from the US, who is at 16th place. 

Recently, Liem won the Grandmaster Triathlon in the Classical Biel International Chess Festival 2023, which was held in Switzerland on July 26.

The Vietnamese grandmaster scored five points in rapid chess, 8.5 points in blitz, and 19 points in standard events, thereby earning 32.5 points in total.

This marked his second consecutive win at the Biel Grandmaster Triathlon. 

Liem received a cash prize of US$11,000 for his championship. FIDE's August ranking has updated Liem's ELO from 2728 to a new rating of 2740. He also jumped from 21st to 15th place in the world's ranking.

Liem is currently competing in the FIDE World Cup 2023, taking place from July 29 to August 25 in Baku, Azerbaijan.