Nguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn

In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Nguyễn, but is often simplified to Nguyen in English-language text. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Trường Sơn.

Nguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn (born 23 February 1990) is a Vietnamese chess player. The second-best player in Vietnam, he is the youngest Vietnamese ever to become a Grandmaster,^[1] and one of the youngest grandmasters in the history of the game, having qualified for the title at the age of fourteen.^[2]

Nguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn
Country	Vietnam
Born	(1990-02-23) 23 February 1990 (age 35) Rach Soi, Rach Gia, Kien Giang Province, Vietnam
Title	Grandmaster (2005)
FIDE rating	2600 (August 2025)
Peak rating	2665 (November 2011)
Peak ranking	No. 77 (June 2015)

Chess career

Trường Sơn learned to play chess at the age of 3. He won a gold medal at the World Youth Championships in the Under 10 category in 2000.^[3]

In 2006, Trường Sơn won the Asian Junior (under 20) Championship in New Delhi, on tiebreak over Shyam Sundar M. after they both finished on 7/9 points.^[4][5]

In August 2014, he, Lê Quang Liêm, and other Vietnamese chess players participated in 2014 Chess Olympiad in Tromsø, Norway. With +7=3-0 result, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son won the gold medal on Board Two thanks to his rating performance of 2843.^[6][7]

He repeated this feat at the 2018 Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia. Playing board 2, he again won the gold medal with an identical score of +7=3-0 for 8.5/10 and an Elo rating performance of 2804.^[8]

Career highlights

• 1999: Bronze medal, Asia U-10 Chess Championship.
• 2000: Gold medal, World U-10 Chess Championship. Second place, Vietnam's 'athlete of the year'
• 2001: Gold medalist at the Asia U-12 Chess Championship
• September 2002: awarded International Master title
• December 2004: awarded International Grandmaster title. Vietnam's 'athlete of the year'
• December 2005: Individual Rapid and Standard Chess Champion, South East Asia Games 23, Philippines.
• February 2010: 5th place in the Aeroflot Open
• July 2010: 2nd place in the Biel Chess Festival
• June 2013: 5th place in World Blitz championship
• March 2014: Winner of 4th HD Bank Cup (7/9, +5 =4)
• August 2014: Board 2 Gold medal (8.5/10, +7 =3), achieving a performance rating of 2843 in the 41st Chess Olympiad.
• September 2017: competed at Chess World Cup.
• September 2018: Board 2 Gold medal (8.5/10, +7 =3), achieving a performance rating of 2804 in the 43rd Chess Olympiad.
• June 2023: 3rd place in the Olympic Esports Series.

Personal life

In April 2015, he married compatriot International Master Phạm Lê Thảo Nguyên.^[9]