When the final pieces were placed back into their boxes at Dortmund’s Kulturzentrum „Alte Schmiede“ on August 10, 2025, the story everyone was talking about wasn’t just German Grandmaster Matthias Blübaum’s victory. It was the sensational run of a 14-year-old International Master from Vietnam, Đầu Khương Duy, who battled a field of seasoned grandmasters and carved his name into the podium of one of Europe’s most prestigious open tournaments.
The Sparkassen Chess Trophy — A Stage for Giants
The Sparkassen Chess Trophy, held as part of the 52nd International Dortmund Chess Days, is no weekend rapid. The A-Open is a nine-round classical marathon where every round can feel like a championship match. With an average rating north of 2400 and the lure of GM/IM norms, it attracts a mix of top German professionals, well-known international GMs, and hungry young talents trying to break through.
This year’s edition (August 2–10) saw a formidable lineup, including former Dortmund champion Blübaum, India’s experienced Surya Shekbar Ganguly, German stars Dmitrij Kollars and Luis Engel, Kazakhstan’s Rinat Jumabayev, and a strong Chinese contingent. The €16,010 A-Open prize fund, combined with the chance to secure career-defining norms, guaranteed fierce competition from start to finish.
The Final Standings — and the Surprise Near the Top
After nine rounds of tense play, the top of the leaderboard looked like this:
🥇 GM Matthias Blübaum (GER, 2660) — 7 points, better tiebreaks
🥈 GM Surya Shekbar Ganguly (IND, 2566) — 7 points
🥉 IM Đầu Khương Duy (VIE, 2462) — 7 points
Blübaum took gold on tiebreaks, but Dau Khuong Duy’s silver was arguably the bigger story, a player still in secondary school, rated 2462, matching scores with elite grandmasters and outperforming players with decades more experience.
The complete top 15 included a who’s who of European chess: Kollars, Liu Yan, Jan Malek, Luis Engel, Jumabayev, and others. But there was only one under-15 player anywhere near the top, and he was in second place.
A Run That Turned Heads
Duy’s path through the tournament was the stuff of underdog legend:
- Rounds 1–5: He opened with a flurry of wins over solid 2100+ opposition, mixing clinical tactics with calm positional play. Even when held to draws in rounds 3 and 4, he stayed in striking distance of the leaders.
- Round 6: The turning point. Facing GM Dennis Wagner (2617), one of Germany’s most dynamic attackers, Duy didn’t just survive — he won. A fearless exchange sacrifice in the middlegame disarmed Wagner’s initiative and tilted the board in Duy’s favor.
- Round 7: He drew against co-leader GM Surya Shekbar Ganguly (2566), showing endgame resilience under pressure.
- Round 8: A crucial win against GM David Gavrilescu (2531) kept him in contention for first.
- Round 9: In the final round, a tense draw with GM Luis Engel (2548) sealed his spot on the podium.
His final score of 7/9, a performance rating of 2581, and a +15 ELO gain would be a dream tournament for many established grandmasters, let alone a 14-year-old still chasing his GM title.
The Norm That Got Away
The one bittersweet note? Despite his stellar performance, Duy narrowly missed securing his second GM norm. The precise combination of opponents’ average ratings and other FIDE norm criteria didn’t align in his favor, a frustrating technicality that will send him home with silverware but without the certificate that many assumed was his for the taking.
Still, this was far more than just a “good tournament.” It was a declaration: Duy can go toe-to-toe with Europe’s elite in classical time controls.
Blübaum Holds, But the Future is Rising
Matthias Blübaum’s victory was a testament to his steadiness in critical moments, especially in the final rounds where tiebreaks loomed large. Ganguly, the seasoned Indian GM, showed his usual endgame precision to claim third.
Yet the most enduring image of the 2025 Sparkassen Chess Trophy may be of Đầu Khương Duy, a teenager from Vietnam, seated calmly among grandmasters twice his age, shaking hands after another giant-slaying performance.
Vietnam’s Next Chess Star?
Đầu Khương Duy (born 2011) is a rising Vietnamese chess talent and the youngest player in Vietnam’s top 10, currently ranked 9th nationally with a 2395 Elo rating. In Vietnamese naming order, “Đầu” is his family name, “Khương” his middle name, and “Duy” his given name. He ranked 30th in our article about the best chess prodigies to watch in 2025.
He has already won multiple international titles, including gold at the 2023 World Youth U12 Standard Chess Championship. Duy earned his first International Master norm at 11, becoming the youngest in Vietnamese history to do so, and is now just 5 Elo points away from the IM title. His ultimate goal is to become a Grandmaster, and one day, a Super Grandmaster.
Vietnam already has a proud chess tradition, with legends like Lê Quang Liêm paving the way internationally. But Duy’s Sparkassen run suggests that the country’s next big name might already be here, and still years away from his peak.
If he keeps playing like this, the next time Duy sits down in Dortmund, he might not just be hunting for norms. He could be hunting for the title itself.
Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2025 – A-Open Top 10 Final Standings
- GM Matthias Blübaum (GER, 2660) – 7 pts (50 Buchholz)
- GM Surya Shekbar Ganguly (IND, 2566) – 7 pts (49 Buchholz)
- IM Đầu Khương Duy (VIE, 2462) – 7 pts (46.5 Buchholz)
- GM Dmitrij Kollars (GER, 2644) – 7 pts
- GM Liu Yan (CHN, 2531) – 7 pts
- GM Jan Malek (POL, 2526) – 7 pts
- GM Luis Engel (GER, 2548) – 6.5 pts
- GM Rinat Jumabayev (KAZ, 2556) – 6.5 pts
- GM Xiao Tong (CHN, 2539) – 6.5 pts
- GM Jan Klimkowski (POL, 2517) – 6.5 pts
Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2025 final results
I’m Xuan Binh, the founder of Attacking Chess, and the Deputy Head of Communications at the Vietnam Chess Federation (VCF). My chess.com and lichess rating is above 2300, in both blitz and bullet. Follow me on Twitter (X).
