Liem, who has an Elo rating of 2669, crushed Vasif Durarbayli of Azerbaijan (Elo 2621) in the first leg of round one on September 12, while Son (Elo 2662) drew with Robert Kempinski of Poland (Elo 2637).
In the second leg of round 1, Liem also defeated his rival, Durarbayli, while Son earned a draw with Kempinski.
With their results, both Liem and Son will receive a bonus of US$10,000 from the event’s organizers.