Tran vs Salem • FIDE World Cup 2025 • Goa, India (2025) • Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen, Keres Attack (B81)
Francisco Yepes Barrera
1 min read
Alexei Maridashvili - https://unsplash.com/photos/brown-chess-piece-on-brown-wooden-chess-piece-3MmddsYnr1w
On the sun-kissed beaches of Goa, India, at the 2025 FIDE World Cup—the grueling 206-player knockout from October 31 to November 26 with a $2 million prize fund and Candidates spots on the line—Vietnamese-born Japanese IM Thanh Tu Tran (2407), a resilient 34-year-old qualifier via India’s 2024 Championship runner-up spot despite low activity from work, drew the short straw against UAE top gun GM A.R. Saleh Salem (2620) in Round 1, Match 29 Game 1. Pre-tournament buzz pegged Salem as a heavy 75-25 favorite, and he delivered the flashiest fireworks of Day 1, sweeping both games with a sacrificial masterpiece hailed as Game of the Day.
Tran fired up the Sicilian Scheveningen, Keres Attack with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e6 7.g4, pushing aggressively via Nfd7 Bg2 b3. Salem countered sharply, castling and maneuvering with Re8 Bf8 Qd2 Nxd4, as Tran built pressure on the queenside but overextended with f4 f5 b4. The tide turned on 24…hxg6?? 25.h5 gxh5, botching the defense; Tran grabbed Rch5 but faltered with 27.Qg5?? 28.Qh4?? 31.Rh8+?? 32.Bxc3??, handing Salem the reins. Salem sealed it ruthlessly with Rc1+ Qe3 Bd3, delivering a pretty mate in 3 via Qd4 or Rc1+ Qc3+ Qa3#, forcing resignation in this tactical rollercoaster.
