Vietnam's junior chess team came home from the 2026 FIDE World Youth Championships in Roquetas de Mar, Spain, with one silver and one bronze medal. The event ran from 14 October to 20 October, according to Báo Văn Hóa. Vũ Nguyễn Bảo Linh took silver in the girls' under-15 section and Nguyễn Mạnh Đức won bronze in the under-15 open section. Both also made big gains on the rating list of FIDE, the world chess federation, Tuổi Trẻ reports.
Vietnam's results
The table combines figures from Tuổi Trẻ and Báo Văn Hóa:
| Player | Section | Result | Score | Performance | Elo gained |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vũ Nguyễn Bảo Linh | Girls U15 | Silver | 7.5 points (7 wins, 1 draw) | 2113 | about 198 |
| Nguyễn Mạnh Đức | Open U15 | Bronze | 8 points (7 wins, 2 draws) | 2381 | about 110 |
| Trần Ngọc Minh Duy | Open U17 | Fourth | |||
| Đặng Lê Xuân Hiền | Girls U17 | Fifth |
Bảo Linh's silver came in a 43-player field from 30 countries and federations, including strong delegations from Spain, Kazakhstan, Germany, Mongolia, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, Japan and Malaysia, Báo Văn Hóa notes. Mạnh Đức finished third in the under-15 open section, and Minh Duy and Xuân Hiền came close to the medals in the under-17 events.
According to Tuổi Trẻ, this year's games were played at 45 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move, two rounds a day over 11 rounds, a schedule that tests stamina and concentration as much as calculation.
A 10-player squad and a rising generation
Vietnam sent 10 players: Đinh Nho Kiệt, Mai Hiếu Linh, Đặng Lê Xuân Hiền, Vũ Nguyễn Bảo Linh, Đặng Ngọc Uyên, Lê Hồng Ân, Mai Ngọc Thiên Vũ, Lê Minh Quang, Nguyễn Mạnh Đức and Trần Ngọc Minh Duy. Four of them finished in the top five of their sections.
It is not the first time Vietnamese juniors have stood out. Tuổi Trẻ recalls that their results at the 2026 Asian Youth Championships were strong enough for FIDE to publish an article praising them. Higher up, school-age players such as Đầu Khương Duy, Bành Gia Huy and Phạm Trần Gia Phúc are all closing in on the grandmaster title.
For young players, rating gains matter as much as medals. Bảo Linh's performance rating of 2113 earned her roughly 198 Elo points and Mạnh Đức's 2381 earned him about 110, according to Tuổi Trẻ, lifting both up the FIDE list.
What comes next
Neither source names the junior team's next international event. Báo Văn Hóa calls the results in Spain an incentive for the young players to keep gaining experience and aim higher, and sees the fourth and fifth places of Minh Duy and Xuân Hiền as encouraging signs for the next wave. Together with the near-grandmasters Tuổi Trẻ mentions, the two medals from Roquetas de Mar point to depth in Vietnamese chess at both junior and senior level.