In the early morning of May 24, Grandmaster Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son posted a letter on his personal page, sharing about his decision not to participate in the 2026 Olympiad as well as the issues that he believes exist in the operation of the Vietnamese chess team.
The chess player born in 1990 said that his absence from this year's Olympiad is part of a larger decision to stop competing in standard chess tournaments for the national team after more than 30 years of attachment to this intellectual sport.
According to Truong Son, age has significantly affected fitness, endurance and the ability to maintain concentration in long matches. He believes that proactively giving opportunities to young chess players is necessary in the current period.
However, Truong Son affirmed that he will continue to compete in rapid chess and blitz chess events, and is ready to contribute to the team if the selection process is carried out objectively and based on professional factors.
Besides personal decisions, Truong Son also mentioned many issues related to team management. He believes that the fact that the men's team changed almost the entire force before the Olympiad is rare at the national level, especially when experienced players such as Le Quang Liem and Le Tuan Minh are absent.
According to Truong Son, the process of rejuvenating the force is necessary but needs to be implemented according to an appropriate roadmap. He believes that young athletes should be given conditions to compete at low tables to accumulate experience before taking on key positions.
The 36-year-old Grandmaster also mentioned recent controversies in the women's team when some top chess players were not registered to participate in the Olympiad due to slow confirmation of information in the online exchange group. According to him, this creates disadvantages for highly specialized athletes and puts unnecessary pressure on young chess players.
In addition, Truong Son said that in recent years, team members have faced many difficulties in terms of international competition expenses and support regimes. He believes that most athletes have to prepare themselves professionally, logistically as well as find financial resources to participate in tournaments.
Closing the article, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son expressed his gratitude to coach Hoang Minh Chuong and his teammates who have accompanied him throughout his career, and at the same time expected Vietnamese chess to have positive changes to create a sustainable development environment for future generations of athletes.
