Ruslan Ponomariov safely drew Le Quang Liem in the final round to clinch first place at the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting. Ponomariov scored 6.5/10, finishing a full point ahead of Le Quang Liem, who finished in second. Vladimir Kramnik and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov shared third at an even five points, while Peter Leko and Arkadij Naiditsch shared last with 4/10.
As big as the win was for Ponomariov -- it was his biggest tournament triumph since his FIDE World Championship win back in 2002 -- the player benefiting most from this year's Dortmund event might be Le Quang Liem. The previously relatively-unknown Vietnamese grandmaster impressed with wins over Ponomariov and Leko, and could earn himself more invitations to premier events off the back of this result. The former Under 14 World Champion is currently the highest-rated player in Vietnam.
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