Controversy about the national youth chess tournament not awarding the cup

The content of fast and lightning chess ended and awarded on July 16, surprising many parents and players. The winning players only receive medals, no prize money, cups or gifts, although everyone has to pay 800,000 VND in fees.

The Organizing Committee - Vietnam Chess Federation - only awards the team cup to the highest prize winners in each flag category. One parent commented on a chess group: "My son won the prize but wondered why the prize was recorded as a cup competition but he was not given a cup".

The 2023 National Youth Chess Championship has 1,367 players participating, with four categories including standard, fast, lightning and traditional chess, taking place in Can Tho from July 13 to 24/7.

In previous years, each player paid 300,000 VND for standard or traditional chess content, and 300,000 VND for flash chess, a total of 600,000 VND. This year, players who do not play standard or traditional chess also have to pay 800,000 VND.

The players compete in 20 age groups, divided equally between men and women. With four types of chess, there will be 80 champions of all ages. Every year, the organizers prepare nearly 100 cups to give to each age group and the whole group. Each cup can cost several hundred to two million dong. Many years before that, the award also awarded bonuses of several hundred thousand to the medal winners.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Thang - Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chess Federation - explained the reason lies in the difficult economic situation and the withdrawal of sponsors. "The previous president of the federation was former Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Dong Tien, so it should attract banks to sponsor chess tournaments," Thang said. "After Mr. Tien retired, the banks all withdrew, leaving only one bank to sponsor costumes for international teams."

The 2023 National Youth Chess Championship has two sponsors. A pharmaceutical brand is the main sponsor named on the prize, and another business sponsors the cost of calculating the international Elo coefficient for the prize, which is about 100 million VND. This is also a new point of this year's youth tournament, because the previous years did not count Elo.

Mr. Thang also added that this year's main sponsor does not support the awarding of cups for each age group, only for the whole group with 12 cups. "This sponsor is new, wants to explore the operation of the tournament in the first year of participation. In the following years they can support more," he added.

The Chairman of the Vietnam Chess Federation for the term of 2023-2028 is Mr. Pham Van Tien, a businessman in the construction industry.

Mr. Thang said the hotel campus has many covered areas and chairs for parents to sit while waiting for their children. The organizers also arranged volunteers to lead young players to their parents after the competition. But there are still many worried and impatient parents, so they stand in front of the gate waiting for their children to finish playing chess.

One inadequacy at the tournament is the tight schedule that leads to the above situation. On July 14, the players played the first six quick games of chess. The next day, the competition was closed, and the standard and traditional chess events were drawn. On July 16, the players played the remaining three games of fast chess and nine games of blitz, lasting until 19:00. During this time, parents are not allowed to enter the exam room, so many people worry that their children are hungry and thirsty. The competition area does not have food and water for the players.

In previous years, the tournament usually took place in the covered arena. Parents can sit in the stands to watch live, while waiting for their child to finish the exam. But the inadequacy in the arena is that the air conditioner is not cool enough for a large number of players. The competition in the hotel is air-conditioned but there is no place for parents to watch and wait for their children.

The Chess Federation representative explained that the specific match schedule was announced a month in advance to the coaches. On July 15, the hotel had another event that caused the tournament to stop playing and schedule, but also an opportunity for the players to visit the local area.

Vietnamese chess belongs to the top group of Southeast Asia, especially at the young level. At the Asian Youth Chess Championship in October 2022 in Indonesia, Vietnam won more gold medals than other teams combined. At the world youth level, Vietnam also had champions such as Dao Thien Hai (U16 men, 1993), Nguyen Thi Dung (U12 women, 1994), Hoang Thanh Trang (U20 women, 1998), Nguyen Ngoc Truong. Son (U10 men, 2000), Le Quang Liem (U14 men, 2005), Tran Minh Thang (U8 men, 2008) and Nguyen Anh Khoi (U10 men, 2012, U12 men, 2014).