Le Quang Liem defeats Vishy Anand to win Leon Masters

by Press release
7/7/2025 – Vietnamese Grandmaster Le Quang Liem has been crowned champion of the León Masters after defeating five-time world champion Vishy Anand by a 3-1 score in Sunday's final match. The tournament, which also featured Argentine prodigy Faustino Oro and local representative Jaime Santos, took place from 4 to 6 July and concluded with a closing ceremony honouring the memory of Zenón Franco and Manuel García Cob, prominent figures in chess who were associated with the León tournament.

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A new name in the list of champions

Vietnamese Grandmaster Le Quang Liem defeated five-time world champion Vishy Anand this past Sunday to claim the title at the 38th edition of the Ciudad de León Masters tournament.

Le Quang Liem displayed solid play throughout and made the most of his opportunities with great assurance. A tremendously strong GM, he now inscribes his name in the list of champions of the León Masters, overcoming the tournament's most beloved and decorated player, Anand, who has won it ten times. Le will return to León next year, as it is tradition for the reigning champion to be invited back to defend their title in the following edition.

The ceremonial first move in the final match between Le and Anand was made by León City Council's Sports Councillor, Vicente Canuria, accompanied by the tournament director, Marcelino Sión.

Before the match began, a minute's silence was held in memory of GM Zenón Franco, who passed away in 2024 and had long been closely associated with the tournament. A tribute was also paid to Manuel García Cob, president of the Chess Federation of Castilla y León, who recently passed away.

Vishy Anand, Le Quang Liem

The finalists of the "Magistral", Vishy Anand and Le Quang Liem

The closing ceremony

The closing and awards ceremony brought this event to a fitting end - an event that attracts hundreds of enthusiasts each year, who come to enjoy not only the masters' games but also the wide range of side activities designed for all audiences.

As is tradition, the renowned chess journalist and promoter Leontxo García hosted the ceremony, during which the Masters' participants received their trophies. This year's prizes featured a distinctly Leonese flair: reliefs representing the rooster of San Isidoro, the Casa Botines, the Cathedral and the Chalice of Doña Urraca.

During the closing event, held at the Barceló Conde Luna Hotel, the Mayor of León, José Antonio Diez, presented the champion's prize to GM Le Quang Liem, who won the León tournament for the first time.

Meanwhile, young IM Faustino Oro received the prize for the most beautiful game, presented by Ana Díaz, a member of the executive board of INCIBE. Runner-up Vishy Anand was awarded his prize by Eduardo Diego, the regional delegate of the Junta in León.

María Perrino, Director of Sports at the University of León, and Sports Deputy Patricia Martínez presented trophies to the two semi-finalists, Jaime Santos and Faustino Oro respectively.

Magistral de Ajedrez Ciudad de León

Final match games

Commentary by IM Sergio Estremera

The first game of the final of the Ciudad de León Masters features ten-time tournament champion Viswanathan Anand against the very strong Vietnamese GM Le Quang Liem. The Vietnamese GM used the same variation of the Spanish Opening that he had employed the day before to defeat Jaime Santos in the tiebreak of the semifinal. Anand tried to gain space on both wings but achieved nothing tangible, eventually agreeing to a queen exchange that led to an endgame where a draw was unavoidable.

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1.e4 3       e5 3 2.Nf3 3 Nc6 3 3.Bb5 2 Bc5 4 4.c3 3       Nf6 2 5.d4 3 exd4 3 6.e5 3 C64: Ruy Lopez: Classical Defence (3...Bc5) except 4 0-0 Nf6. Nd5 2 7.cxd4 3 Bb4+ 2 8.Nbd2 4 White has an edge. d6 18 9.0-0 11 0-0 3 10.Ne4N 6 Predecessor: 10.Nb3 dxe5 11.Nxe5 Nce7 12.a3 Bd6 13.Nc5 Ng6 14.Ncd7 Bxd7 15.Nxd7 Re8 16.Nc5 ½-½ Wang,T (2428)-Georgiev,V (2406) Charlotte CCCSA Fall GM-C 2022 (5) 10...dxe5 8 11.a3 50
and Bxc6 should not be overlooked 11...Be7 4 12.Bxc6 30 bxc6 2 13.Nxe5 7       Qe8 3 14.Re1 57 f6 23 15.Nd3 25 Bf5 1:03 16.Qf3 1:38 Qd7 1:55 17.Nec5 1:11 Bxc5 13 18.Nxc5 4 Rae8 11 19.Bd2 1:38 19.Nxd7? Rxe1# 19...Qc8 2 20.h3 1:13 Bg6 6 21.Qb3 2:03 Rxe1+ 4:51 22.Rxe1 8 Re8 1 Black is weak on the dark squares 23.Rxe8+ 21 Bxe8 23 24.a4 1:06 h5 1:06 25.a5 48 Kh7 23 26.Qf3 2:14 Bg6 36 27.g4 54 Qe8 30 28.a6 10 Kg8 44 29.Kg2 44 Bf7 1:11 30.Kf1 22 Nb6 34 31.b3 15 Qd8 3:40 32.Be3 31 The position is equal. 32.Qxc6 Qxd4 33.Ne4 Qd3+ 34.Ke1 Qxh3 34...Bxb3 35.Qe8+ Kh7 36.Qxh5+ Kg8 37.Qe8+ Kh7 38.f3= 34...Qxb3 35.Nc3 35.gxh5 Qh1+ 35...Qxb3 36.Nc3 35...Bxh5 36.Ng3= 35...Bxb3 36.Qe8+ Kh7 37.Nxf6+ gxf6 38.Qe7+ Kh8 39.Qxf6+ Kh7 40.Qe7+ Kh8 41.Qe8+ Kg7 42.Qg6+ Kh8 43.Qf6+ Kg8 44.Qg6+ Kh8 45.Qe8+ Kh7 46.Qg6+ Kh8= 35...Qxh5? 36.Nc5-+ 36.Ke2 Bxh5+ 36...f5? 37.Nf6+ gxf6 38.Qxh1+- 37.Ke3 Qf3+ 38.Kd4 Qxb3-+ 32...hxg4 33.hxg4 3 Qd6 1:18 34.Kg1 32 Nd7 23 35.Nb7 1:07 Qd5 27 36.Qxd5 15 Weighted Error Value: White=0.04 (flawless) /Black=0.04 (flawless) Blunder Elo (mw_local): 3220 (0.0) 3220 (0.0) OK: White=8 Black=8
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Anand,V2743Le,Q2729½–½202538th Magistral de Leon 20252.1

The second game of the final saw the first victory in the classical phase of the entire tournament, as all eight classical semifinal games ended in draws. Le Quang Liem took the lead by outplaying Anand in a flawless positional game, employing the Catalan Opening - so named after it was first played at the Barcelona International Tournament in 1929.

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1.d4 3 Nf6 1 2.c4 2 e6 2 3.Nf3 3 d5 2 4.g3 3 dxc4 2 5.Bg2 3 a6 3 6.0-0 7 Nc6 2 7.Be3 44 E04: Open Catalan: 5 Nf3. Nd5 50 8.Bg5 28 Be7 19 9.Bxe7 11 The position is equal. Ndxe7 7 10.e3 1:42 b5N 43 10...0-0 11.Nbd2 b5 12.b3 c3 13.Ne4 Nd5 14.a3 f5 15.Nc5 a5 16.h4 Rb8 1-0 Eljanov,P (2717)-Sethuraman,S (2640) Wch Rapid Berlin 2015 (10) 11.b3 18 cxb3 24 12.Qxb3 3 Rb8 29 13.Rc1 17       White has compensation. 0-0 16 14.Nbd2 50 White sacrificed a pawn Bb7 19 15.Rc5 1:16 Nd5 1:02 16.Rac1 19 Nce7 4 17.Ne5 18 Ng6 1:21 17...Re8 18.Nc6 1:32 White has more active pieces. Bxc6 13 19.Rxc6 2 a5 27 19...Nb6 20.Bxd5± 22 a4 19 21.Qb4 1:41 21.Qb1± Qxd5 22.R1c5 22.Rxc7 Qh5± 21...Qxd5 8 22.Rxc7 11 22.a3± 22...e5!= 1:20 22...Qxa2? 23.e4+- 23.R7c5 1:08       White has some pressure. Qxa2 3:10 24.d5 1 e4? 3      
25.Qd4!+- 1:20 25.Rxb5? Rxb5 26.Qxb5 Qxd2-+ 25.Nxe4 Ne5 26.Nc3 26.Rxb5 Rxb5 27.Qxb5 a3= 26...Qd2+- 25...Ne5 1:25 26.R1c2 1:06 26.Qxe5 Qxd2 27.R5c2 Qb4 26...Qb1+ 23 27.Nxb1 57 Nf3+ 1 28.Kf1 1:42 Nxd4 3 29.exd4 1 b4 2 30.Ra5 44 a3 53 31.Rcc5 2 f5 50 32.Ke2 1:12 Ra8 25
Threatens to win with ...a2. 33.Nd2! 4 Rxa5 2 33...Kf7 was called for. 34.d6 g6 34.Rxa5 1       Endgame KRN-KR Rc8 2 35.d6 23       Kf7 39 35...g6 36.Ra4 Kf7 36.d7 35 Rb8 21
37.Rb5! 3:09       Ra8 51 38.Rxb4 18 38.Rxf5+ Ke7 39.Nxe4 Kxd7 40.Nc5+ Kc6+- 38...Ke7 7 39.Nb3 1:13 Kxd7 13 40.Kd2 16 a2 5 41.Na1 1 Kc6 4 Wards off Rb7 42.Kc3 9 g5 9 43.Kc4 18 White should try 43.Rc4+ Kd6 44.Rc5 Ra3+ 45.Kb2 43...Ra5± 26 44.Rb8 33 Ra4+! 7 45.Kc3 8 Ra3+ 6 Black should play 45...f4 46.Rb3 5 Ra4 12 47.Rb4 27 47.Rb2± 47...Ra3+ 6 47...Ra8!? 48.Kc4 3 48.Kb2= Rf3 49.Rc4+ 49.Kxa2 Rxf2+ 50.Kb3 e3 49...Kd5 50.Rc2 48...Ra5! 48 49.Rb2 8 Ra4+ 14 Black cannot hold the game after this. 49...Ra6± 50.Rc2 f4 50.Kb3+- 24 Rxd4 3 51.Rxa2 1 f4 35 52.Nc2 7 Rd3+ 38 52...Rd1 53.Kc4 Kd6 54.Ra6+ Kd7 53.Kc4 2 And now Nb4+ would win. Kd6 29 54.Nd4 14 Rd1 2 White is winning. 55.Ra6+ 8 Kd7 8 56.gxf4 40 gxf4 2 57.Rf6 2 f3 2 58.Kd5 15 Weighted Error Value: White=0.28 (precise) /Black=0.33 Loses game: --- Black=1 Mistake: White=5 Black=7 Inaccurate: White=3 Black=2 OK: White=20 Black=20 Best: White=4 Black=2 Strong: White=2 Black=3
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Le,Q2729Anand,V27431–0202538th Magistral de Leon 20252.2

Another win for Le Quang Liem in the third game made him the champion of the Masters tournament with one game still to play, which would no longer influence the result. The Vietnamese GM is known for his solid style, excellent preparation, and flawless technique in converting advantages. It remained to be seen whether the ten-time champion could bow out with a win in the fourth and final game of this 38th edition of the Ciudad de León Masters.

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1.d4 3 d5 1 2.c4 4 c6 2 3.cxd5 10 cxd5 1 4.Nc3 4 Nf6 2 5.Bf4 2 Nc6 2 6.e3 4 a6 4 7.Rc1 43 Bf5 13 The position is equal. D10: Slav Defence: 3 cxd5 (without early Nf3) and 3 Nc3. 8.Bd3 35 Bxd3 3 9.Qxd3 2 e6 2 10.h3N 7 10.Nf3 Be7 11.Ne5 Rc8 12.Nxc6 Rxc6 13.0-0 0-0 14.Ne2 Rxc1 15.Rxc1 Qa5 16.Qb3 ½-½ Narayanan,S (2624)-Adhiban,B (2660) FIDE World Cup AICF Qual rapid 2021 (3) 10...Qb6 31 11.Rb1 2:55 Be7 11 12.Nf3 5 0-0 2 13.0-0 3 Rfc8 2 14.Rfc1 6 Qd8 19 15.Ne5 17 Nxe5 12 16.Bxe5 3 Rc6 15 17.Ne2 27 Rac8 1 18.Rxc6 2 Rxc6 1 19.Rc1 2
And now Rxc6 would win. 19...Qc8 16 20.Rxc6 6 Qxc6 1 21.Bxf6 39 Bxf6 4 22.Qc3 8 Qxc3 8 Not much happened in this game. Weighted Error Value: White=0.04 (flawless) /Black=0.03 (flawless) OK: White=9 Black=7
½–½
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Le,Q2729Anand,V2743½–½202538th Magistral de Leon 20252.4

The fourth game ended in a draw without much significance, resulting in a final score of 3–1 in favour of the new champion, Le Quang Liem.

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1.d4 3 d5 1 2.c4 4 c6 2 3.cxd5 10 cxd5 1 4.Nc3 4 Nf6 2 5.Bf4 2 Nc6 2 6.e3 4 a6 4 7.Rc1 43 Bf5 13 The position is equal. D10: Slav Defence: 3 cxd5 (without early Nf3) and 3 Nc3. 8.Bd3 35 Bxd3 3 9.Qxd3 2 e6 2 10.h3N 7 10.Nf3 Be7 11.Ne5 Rc8 12.Nxc6 Rxc6 13.0-0 0-0 14.Ne2 Rxc1 15.Rxc1 Qa5 16.Qb3 ½-½ Narayanan,S (2624)-Adhiban,B (2660) FIDE World Cup AICF Qual rapid 2021 (3) 10...Qb6 31 11.Rb1 2:55 Be7 11 12.Nf3 5 0-0 2 13.0-0 3 Rfc8 2 14.Rfc1 6 Qd8 19 15.Ne5 17 Nxe5 12 16.Bxe5 3 Rc6 15 17.Ne2 27 Rac8 1 18.Rxc6 2 Rxc6 1 19.Rc1 2
And now Rxc6 would win. 19...Qc8 16 20.Rxc6 6 Qxc6 1 21.Bxf6 39 Bxf6 4 22.Qc3 8 Qxc3 8 Not much happened in this game. Weighted Error Value: White=0.04 (flawless) /Black=0.03 (flawless) OK: White=9 Black=7
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Le,Q2729Anand,V2743½–½202538th Magistral de Leon 20252.4

Vishy Anand, José Cuenca, Le Quang Liem

Vishy Anand and Le Quang Liem with commentator José "Pepe" Cuenca during the post-match press conference

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