As many as 232 chess masters from all the five continents will compete in the 7th HD Bank International Open Chess Tournament, which opened in Ho Chi Minh City on March 12. 

WGM Le Quang Liem

Host Vietnam include World Grand Master Le Quang Liem and outstanding masters Dao Thien Hai, Tran Tuan Minh, Nguyen Anh Khoi, Pham Le Thao Nguyen, Vo Thi Kim Phung, and Nguyen Thi Mai Hung.

They will compete with players from Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, China, Germany, India, Switzerland, Indonesia, the Philippines and America.

The average Elo rating of the tournament is 2,383, which is believed a high-level competition.

Nguyen Phuoc Trung, General Secretary of the Vietnam Chess Federation, said strong competitors in the tournament are Chinese seed No. 1 Wei Yi (Elo rating 2,725) and No. 3 Bu Xiangzhi (2,711); and Vietnamese Le Quang Liem, 2,712.

The tournament, which will last until March 17, has prizes worth a total of 45,000 USD, with the first prize winner receiving 13,000 USD.

VNA