HCM City (VNA) – The ninth HDBankCup International Chess Tournament kickedoff in Ho Chi Minh City on March 7, drawing more than 300 players from 28nations and territories.
President of the VietnamChess Federation (VCF) Nguyen Dong Tien said that the week-long event offers agood chance for competitors to improve their skills as it brings together theworld’s top masters.
According to VCF VicePresident Nguyen Phuoc Trung, the host Vietnam sends to the tournament 161players, including top figures such as Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, Tran Tuan Minh,Nguyen Anh Khoi, Pham Le Thao Nguyen and Vo Thi Kim Phung.
The nine-round event,organised by the Vietnam Chess Federation, has two sections: a masters categoryfor male players with Elo rating of above 2100 and women rated above 2000, anda challengers category for unrated players and those rated below 2100.
The event has a totalprize purse of 60,000 USD, of which the winner in the masters category willreceive 16,000 USD.
First launched in2011, the tournament has attracted 1,400 players from 36 countries andterritories worldwide.-VNA