I met chess player Trung after he won a series of medals at the 32nd SEA Games and the 2023 National Chess Clubs Championship in May and June. The player was born into a rural family in Lan Thinh village, Phuc Hoa commune, Tan Yen district. His family has two children. His elder brother was born in 1997. From the age of five, Trung knew how to play chess.

Player Nguyen Quang Trung (left) competes at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia.

Discovering the boy's talent, in 2008, the Bac Giang Sports Training and Competition Center called Trung to the provincial chess team. Here, he was tutored by coaches. Despite being young, Nguyen Quang Trung has been always chosen to compete at national tournaments for teenagers and children to sharpen his skills. 

At the 2014 National Youth Chess Championship held in the central city of Da Nang, Trung won a bronze medal in the rapid chess individual event. This is the first individual men’s medal of the Bac Giang delegation in this tournament after many years. From 2015 to 2023, Nguyen Quang Trung won dozens of medals of all kinds, including gold medals at various championships in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

At the 32nd SEA Games, held in Cambodia in early May 2023, Trung was honored to be one of 12 Vietnamese chess players competing in Ouk Chaktrang, the traditional chess of host Cambodia. At that time, experts held that this was a huge challenge to players and winning medals would be extremely difficult. Expected and trusted by the coaching staff, Trung was determined to win a medal.

For eight months, he studied how to play Ouk Chaktrang. Every day, he joined online training with opponents and read many documents about this sport.

Player Nguyen Quang Trung (second, left) receives a certificate of merit from the Bac Giang provincial Youth Union for his excellent performance at the 32nd SEA Games.

To improve his skills, in January 2023, Trung participated in the Ouk Chaktrang Championship held in Cambodia and won a bronze in the individual event. At the same time, he and his teammates had 10 days under training in the host country. Thanks to his great efforts, at the 32nd SEA Games, this player won a silver medal in the individual event and a bronze in the men's doubles. 

Notably, in the semi-finals, Trung had an intense mind game with his Thai opponent, who was said to be the brightest candidate for the gold medal at the tournament. Particularly, Maruk blitz (Thailand's chess) is quite new, but Trung has quickly captured it. Maruk will be put into competition by host Thailand at SEA Games 33 in 2025.

Player Nguyen Quang Trung plans to open a free chess class for disadvantaged children who cannot afford to study further, thereby discovering young talents for the provincial chess team. The national master aims to become a professional chess coach in the future to continue dedicating to the province’s sport cause.

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