8-year-old female chess player from Dong Nai achieves WCM title from FIDE

After just over a year of competing in chess, 8-year-old female player Ngu Phuong Linh has built an impressive collection of trophies and medals, highlighted by gold medals at the Southeast Asian Championship and her attainment of the FIDE Woman Candidate Master (WCM) title.

8-year-old female chess player Ngu Phuong Linh possesses an impressive collection of trophies, medals, and certificates of achievement won at tournaments. Photo: Provided by the character.

Remarkable achievements after just over one year of competition.

Ngu Phuong Linh (born in 2017) comes from a family where her father works in the freelance business and her mother is a primary school teacher. In the upcoming academic year, she will enter class 3/1 at Nguyen Dinh Chieu Primary School in Long Binh Ward, Dong Nai Province. Although she has only been competing in chess for just over a year, Phuong Linh has already won numerous medals and trophies, from tournaments in Bien Hoa City (formerly) to open, regional, national, and international competitions.

After participating in chess for just over a year, Ngu Phuong Linh has achieved remarkable results. Photo: Provided by the character.

Phuong Linh was first introduced to chess in July 2023. However, due to her innate ability, she achieved her first career accomplishments after less than a year of training.

Phuong Linh’s first achievement was winning an individual gold medal and a team silver medal in the rapid chess category for the 7–9 age group at the 11th Bien Hoa City Phu Dong Sports Festival in March 2024. Just over three months later, she went on to win another gold medal at the Bien Hoa City Age Group Chess Championship.

Eight-year-old female chess player Ngu Phuong Linh with her championship trophy for winning the U.8 Girls Traditional Chess category at the 2025 National Youth Chess Championship. Photo: Provided by the character.

Her father, Ngu Tuan Tu, shared: “Noticing that my daughter had a talent for chess, especially after achieving early results at tournaments held in the former Bien Hoa City, I did my best to support her in pursuing her passion for this intellectual sport.” Notably, after winning a silver medal at the 2nd Dong Nai Chess Open Tournament, Phuong Linh began training with coaches at Dong Nai Chess Company, including coach Nguyen Thuy Duong.

Under the guidance of Coach Thuy Duong, Phuong Linh’s professional skills progressively improved, leading to further achievements. Her first notable success at a national tournament was winning two bronze medals in the U.7 blitz and rapid chess categories at the 2024 National Chess Club Championship held in July in Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province. Additionally, in 2024, she earned medals in various provincial and municipal tournaments, including a gold medal at the Thuong Ky Vuong Chess Tournament (Ninh Binh, July 28, 2024), a gold medal at the Royalchess Autumn 2024 Tournament in Ho Chi Minh City, a silver medal at the 11th Dong Nai Provincial Phu Dong Sports Festival, two bronze medals at the Thu Dau Mot Chess Tournament (Binh Duong), and a bronze medal at the Central Highlands - Central Region Chess Tournament.

The year 2025 marked a new milestone in Phuong Linh’s career as she achieved high results in regional and national youth tournaments. Her first medal of 2025 was a silver medal won at the 3rd Dong Nai Chess Open in January 2025. Subsequently, she secured a gold medal at the expanded Thu Duc City Children’s Age Group Chess Tournament in Ho Chi Minh City and another gold medal at the 14th Gia Dinh Open Chess Tournament.

Ngu Phuong Linh with her parents after her achievement at the national youth tournament. Photo: Provided by the character.

Competing and winning medals at provincial and open tournaments helped Phuong Linh develop greater composure and competitive experience, which in turn enabled her to earn major achievements at the National Chess Club Championship and the National Youth Chess Championship. At the National Chess Club Championship held in early June in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, she won a team silver medal in the U.8 blitz event and a team bronze medal in the U.8 rapid event. Just half a month later, at the 2025 National Youth Chess Championship in Ninh Binh Province, Phuong Linh delivered an outstanding performance, claiming an individual gold medal and a team bronze medal in the U.8 traditional event. This particular gold medal marks the first national youth championship title in the career of the young chess talent from Dong Nai.

Ngu Phuong Linh on the podium receiving the silver medal in the Girls U.8 Standard Chess category at the 2025 National Outstanding Youth Chess Championship. Photo: Provided by the character.

At the 2025 Southeast Asian Age Group Chess Championship in early July, Phuong Linh continued her impressive form by winning three gold medals in the U.8 category: one individual gold in Girls Standard Chess, two team golds in Standard and Rapid Chess, and one individual bronze in Girls Rapid Chess. Most recently, at the National Outstanding Youth Chess Championship held in late July, she earned a single silver medal in the Girls U.8 Standard Chess individual event.

With the achievements she has attained, 8-year-old chess prodigy Phuong Linh shared: “My father was the one who inspired me when I first started playing chess. Whenever I compete in a tournament, I try to stay calm, focus on the game, and not put too much pressure on the outcome. I usually train with coaches at the Provincial Sports Training and Competition Center three evenings a week (from Monday to Wednesday). On the other evenings, I practice on my own and have private lessons with my teachers. In addition to studying chess, I also spend two evenings a week learning English. To balance school and chess training, I follow a clear schedule, setting aside specific time for classwork and for chess practice, with guidance from my mother.”

Achieving the WCM title from FIDE

Following her domestic achievements, Ngu Phuong Linh, together with her teammates from the Dong Nai youth chess team, represented Vietnam at the 2025 Southeast Asian Age Group Chess Championship, held from July 1 to 11 in Malaysia.      

Ngu Phuong Linh competes at the 2025 Southeast Asian Age Group Chess Championship. Photo: Provided by the character.

In her first international competition, Ngu Phuong Linh and other Vietnamese players had a successful tournament, helping the Vietnamese youth chess team achieve a dominant victory with 99 gold medals, 29 silver medals, and 55 bronze medals across three categories: standard chess, rapid chess, and blitz chess, securing the top overall ranking. They far surpassed the second-place team, the Philippines (12 gold medals), and the third-place team, Malaysia (6 gold medals).

Individually, "princess" Ngu Phuong Linh delivered an outstanding performance, winning three gold medals: one individual gold in Girls U.8 Standard Chess, two team golds in Standard and Rapid Chess, and one individual bronze in Girls U.8 Rapid Chess.    

Ngu Phuong Linh on the podium receiving the individual gold medal in the Girls U.8 Standard Chess category at the 2025 Southeast Asian Age Group Chess Championship. Photo: Provided by the character.

More importantly, by winning the individual gold medal in the Girls U.8 Standard Chess category at the 2025 Southeast Asian Age Group Chess Championship (a tournament recognized by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) for awarding titles), Ngu Phuong Linh has officially met the eligibility criteria for the Woman Candidate Master (WCM) title. Nevertheless, she must accumulate the required Elo rating of 1,800 to be formally granted the WCM title. According to her family, following her recent achievements, on August 1, Ngu Phuong Linh was announced to have an initial Elo rating of 1,709. With this rating, she needs to compete in tournaments to accumulate additional Elo points, thereby officially qualifying for the WCM title.

Ngu Phuong Linh has an Elo rating of 1,709 along with her gold medals from the 2025 Southeast Asian Age Group Chess Championship. Photo: Provided by the character.

Speaking about her future goals, Phuong Linh shared: “My main goal is still academic study. I want to do well in school so that one day I can explore many countries around the world on my own. However, when it comes to chess, I will also continue to train hard in the hope of winning more medals at international tournaments.”

Her father, Ngu Tuan Tu, added: “Since no one in our family has pursued sports, our belief is simply this: as long as she remains passionate, we will support her and create every possible condition for her to reach her full potential, within the limits of our family’s means. Our role is to support, encourage, and stand by her whether she wins or loses. It is her responsibility to be self-disciplined, hardworking, and serious about the path she has chosen.”

Commenting on her young student, coach Nguyen Thuy Duong remarked: “She is a quiet child who may not yet have a strong love for chess, but she has natural talent, a distinct personality, excellent memory, carefulness, quick learning ability, and respect for her teachers.”

Coach Nguyen Thuy Duong shares her joy with Ngu Phuong Linh’s achievement at the National Youth Championship. Photo: Provided by the character.

To further enhance Ngu Phuong Linh’s professional skills, Coach  Nguyen Thuy Duong added that they will focus intensely on each training session, including arranging high-intensity practice schedules, online lessons, and in-person instruction. Additionally, they will arrange and create opportunities for her to participate in more tournaments to gain valuable competition experience and accumulate more Elo points.

By: Huy Anh  

Translated by: Tam Binh - Minho