Vietnamese Grandmaster Leâ Quang Liem yesterday won the US Spice Cup in Texas after beating Leinier Dominguez of Cuba in the last round of play.

The final game was quite short, with Liem securing victory in 29 moves.

After 10 matches, two-time Aeroflot Open champion Liem pocketed 17 points to take the trophy at the fifth-edition of the tournament.

Dominguez, who defeated Liem in the fifth round, came second with 15 points above Georg Meier of Germany, who had the same points thanks to his auxiliary indexes.

The tournament, held on October 15-25, was held in a round robin format.

The annual Spice Cup is the highest rated international invitational tournament in the US.

Electric company announces gold medal incentive

Electric cable producer Sino Group has agreed to give a cash-prize of VND3 million (US$150) to gold medal winners at the Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia next month.

At a sponsorship signing ceremony yesterday, the group said each team's gold medal will get a cash prize of $250.

Meanwhile, the men's U-23 football team would be awarded $1,500 a gold medal at the SEA Games, the sponsor's representative said yesterday.

Viet Nam's U23 team are hoping to clinch the SEA Games gold medal - a feat the country has yet to achieve since the competition started in Thailand in 1959.

Vietnamese athletes are set to compete in 36 sporting events at the SEA Games, which will begin in Jakarta and Palembang on November 11.

Over 600 athletes, coaches and officials will join a seeing-off ceremony at the Opera House on Sunday.

Striker Tung breaks bonds to sign for Hai Phong

Thanh Hoa striker Hoang Dinh Tung has signed a three-year contract with V-League side Vicem Hai Phong for a reputed salary of VND40 million (US$1,900) a month.

"It's hard to say goodbye to my native team but I want to have a new environment to test my strength," said Tung, 23, who played for Thanh Hoa for six years.

Tung, who scored 10 goals last season, is now with the national U-23 team preparing for the 26th Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia next month. — VNS