More than 100 local and foreign chess players will be participating in
the third HD Bank International Open Chess Tournament from March 19-24
in Ho Chi Minh City .
Forty-eight local players
and more than 60 others from all over the world, the biggest number of
players since the tournament’s beginning, will compete for a total cash
prize of 30,000 USD, with the winner receiving 10,000 USD, the runner-up
5,000 USD and the third 3,000 USD.
All the best
local players, including top seed GM Le Quang Liem and fourth seed GM
Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, will try to keep the trophy in Vietnam after
being defeated by foreign players in 2011 and 2012.
Local players, however, are expected to have their work cut out for
them when the biggest chess competition in Vietnam this year attracts
many world-class players from the leading countries in chess, including
China, Hungary and India .
The most
formidable obstacle for Liem, who has an Elo of 2709, and Son (2647) are
the three-time Hungarian champion Ferenc Berkes (2702) and Berkes’
countryman Papp Gabor (2582).
China also poses
a big challenge for local players with its strong team, especially Yu
Yangyi (2696), who are on a level equal to Liem and Son.
Pham Le Thao Nguyen, Nguyen Thi Thanh An and Shen Yang and Wang Jue of
China are the well-known female names in the tournament.
India has also sent a good team with Ashwin Jayaram being
considered as a dark horse in the competition. It is Indian’s first
participation in the tournament.
The tournament, the biggest of its kind in Vietnam , will kick off at Raman Hotel in district 3, HCM City.-VNA