Hanoi (VNA) – A totalof 271 players from 21 countries and territories have registered to participatein the annual HDBank International Open Chess Tournament, slated for March 10 –15 in Hanoi.
The organising board said at apress conference in Hanoi on March 8 that among the participants, 132 will compete in the Master categoryfor athletes who have Elo ratings of 2,100 for men and 2,000 for women,reflecting their word-class abilities. The rest will take part in theChallengers discipline.
Vietnam,as the host, sends the best roster, including all 14 Vietnamese Grandmasters(GM), to the tournament.
Defendingchampion GM Le Quang Liem (Elo rating 2,736) who is the world No 22, is seededNo 1, and China’s Wang Hao (Elo rating 2,713) is No 2.
After the success of seveneditions in Ho Chi Minh City, this is the first time the tournament is held inHanoi. It is the biggestprofessional chess tournament in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, and anofficial competition in the world chess federation’s (FIDE) system.
The competition offers a total of 55,000 USD in prizes, anincrease of about 20 percent compared to last year.-VNA
