Vietnam’s blue chip chess championship lures top players

March 08, 2013 | 17:04

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Vietnamese Grand Master Le Quang Liem will act as the top seed in the HDBank International Open Chess Tournament 2013, where more than 100 local and foreign chess players competing.

The $30,000 tournament, Vietnam’s largest, will take place in Ho Chi Minh City between March 19 and 24.

The third annual tournament will see the biggest number of players since its inception in 2011, with 40 Vietnamese competitors and 60 from abroad.

The second seed after Liem, who has an Elo of 2709, is three-time Hungarian champion Ferenc Berkes (2702). The HDBank tournament will also welcome Grand Master Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Elo 2647), another Vietnamese ace and Hungary’s Papp Gabor (2582).

Other international players come from the leading chess countries like including China and India. China also poses a big challenge for Vietnamese players with their strong team, especially Yu Yangyi with Elo 2696, higher than Son’s. Meanwhile, India’s Ashwin Jayaram is considered a dark horse in the competition. It is his first entry in the World Chess Federation (FIDE)- recognised tournament.

This year’s average Elo is 2256, higher than 2215 last year and 2159 in 2011.

In the women’s competition, Vietnamese aces Pham Le Thao Nguyen and Nguyen Thi Thanh An, together with China’s Shen Yang and Wang Jue are viewed as the hot favourites this year.

Ho Chi Minh City-based HDBank, the tournament sponsor, is a fast-growing lender in Vietnam.

Caption: Vietnam’s Grand Master Le Quang Liem (1st, L) poses for picture with two child players joining a friendship chess competition in Ho Chi Minh City March 6, 2013, where Liem played against 20 unprofessional competitors at the same time. The competition is a warm-up for the HDBank International Open Chess Tournament 2013.

By Tuong Thuy

vir.com.vn

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