On April 10 in Yen Bai (Lao Cai), chess player Lai Ly Huynh and top faces began competing in rapid chess for the men's and women's divisions of the 2026 National Chess Championship.
The rapid chess event will be played in 8 rounds according to the Swiss system. The regulations of the Regulations will select 2 players with the best results after 8 rounds to participate in the final match. In the final match, the 2 players will play 2 rounds of the first and second rounds of rapid chess to compete for the championship.
Lai Ly Huynh did not win the standard chess and blitz chess championship that took place at this year's tournament. In the standard chess event, the defending world champion was eliminated in the quarterfinals. In the blitz chess event, Lai Ly Huynh participated in the final but did not surpass player Vu Quoc Dat, so he received a silver medal. Player Vu Quoc Dat won a gold medal in blitz chess.
Currently, Lai Ly Huynh is very much looking forward to achieving the highest results in the rapid chess and blitz chess events in the tournament. Temporarily after 4 sets of rapid chess, Lai Ly Huynh is currently ranked 2nd with 3.5 points.
In the women's blitz chess group that ended, Nguyen Hoang Yen won the gold medal while Dam Thi Thuy Dung had a silver medal.
It is expected that the rapid chess content will close the final rounds in the afternoon of April 10.
After the rapid chess event, the chess players will enter the blitz chess competition with an 8-game format according to the Swiss system. The tournament will close on April 12.
This year, the competition program of the National Chess Championship 2026 does not include achievements in the X-2026 National Sports Festival. The chess event of the Congress will be held in December in Ho Chi Minh City.
