16 years ago, we still remember Lai Ly Huynh as one of the youngest members of the Vietnam Sports Delegation attending the 3rd 2009 Asian Games in the host country (AIG 3).
At that time, the chess tournament was held in Quang Ninh. In his first time participating in the Asian Games, Lai Li Huynh won the silver medal in the standard men's chess team.
In fact, Li Huang is not a person who often shares with the media. But in Quang Ninh at that time, Ly Huynh once said: "I still have to learn more than my seniors. I really want to make a personal mark.
After 16 years, the confession then became a reality. Lai Li Huynh is already the world's number 1 chess player. The victory over young face Doan Thang (China) in the final of the men's individual standard chess on September 27 in Shanghai (China) brought many emotions to Lai Li Huang. Winning is not just an individual championship. It also affirms that Vietnamese chess is capable of breaking the world dominance of Chinese players.
In contrast to 1 year ago, Lai Li Huynh entered the final of the men's individual standard chess tournament at the 2023 World Championship (held in the US). Unfortunately, the player could not beat China's top player, Manh Than. Lai Li Huynh has an individual silver medal in the above tournament.
In 2022, Lai Li Huynh and Nguyen Thanh Bao won the gold medal in the standard chess team at the World Championship. Many experts believe that the Vietnamese chess general winning the gold medal with his teammates is a resounding success. However, Lai Li Huynh still wants such a brilliant achievement: the individual gold medal.
In terms of achievements, in addition to national championships, Lai Ly Huynh marked the history of Vietnamese chess with the result of the first player to win a gold medal in the rapid chess event at the World Championship. In 2022, this content was held for the first time. At the 2025 World Championship, the player with the title "Ao Dai Tuong Tu" of the Vietnamese chess general affirmed his expertise more clearly with the individual championship of standard chess.
"We evaluate Lai Li Huynh as having the qualities to be a successful person in the decisive game. That is the reason why the players won this year's tournament," said the leader of the Vietnamese chess team - Mr. Nguyen Minh Thang.
This year, Lai Li Huang is 35 years old. From a boy who loved chess (guided by his father) in Vinh Long, Lai Ly Huynh is now a world champion. For chess experts, age does not determine the achievement but the professional ability makes it successful.
Lai Li Huynh once cherished the realty of winning the ASIAD arena championship. In 2022, the chess player had the opportunity to achieve high results at the 19th ASIAD in Hangzhou (China) but was not successful because the host chess players competed excellently. Lai Li Huynh has a silver medal at the 19th ASIAD team. In the future, when chess is returned to the ASIAD, Vietnamese intellectual sports believe that Lai Ly Huynh's talent can continue to compete for the highest medal.
At the end of the 2025 World Championship, the Vietnam team won 1 gold medal (Lai Ly Huynh), 1 silver medal (Lai Ly Huynh/Nguyen Thanh Bao) and 1 bronze medal (U12 women, Tran Nguyen Minh Hang). Chess player Lai Ly Huynh was awarded a "hot" prize of 1 billion VND while the coaching staff was awarded 200 million VND from the former President of the Vietnam Chess Federation - Mr. Nguyen Huu Luan.
