Welcome to the land of staggering natural beauty- HD Bank Open Vietnam 2018

by Atul Dahale - 16/02/2018

What do you look for when you choose to play in an international event? 1. Strong field, 2. A good place to visit, 3. Affordability. What if we said that all of this is possible if you play at the HD Bank Open 2018 in Vietnam. With the top seed being 2737 and close to 100 titled players expected this is a perfect tournament for you to gain exposure/norms. Apart from this Hanoi is a beautiful city in Vietnam with a lot of tourist attractions. And thanks to ChessBase India Power this entire trip will cost you just Rs. 40,000. Check out this article and get ready for the South East Asian Experience.

Welcome to the 8th HD Bank Open 2018

The 8th HD Bank chess open will be held from 9th to 16th March 2018 in Ha Noi the capital city of Vietnam. HD Bank open is the strongest annual event held in Vietnam. Because of its excellent playing conditions and huge prize fund, this event has always attracted strong players from across the globe. Let's have a look at what this tournament has to offer us!

Tournament Venue :

Ha Noi, located on the banks of the Red River, is one of the most ancient capitals in the world, the HD Bank open will take place in five-star Army Hotel, to play a tournament in the great place like this is always fun.

The Army Hotel | Photo: Official Page.

The Schedule:

Who can participate in this tournament?

There are two categories in which this tournament will be conducted, Masters and Challengers.

Master Category: For players rated above 2100 and women rated above 2000.

Challenger Category: For players rated below 2100 or unrated.

These Top guns will be firing down the shots in 2018 edition!

The Vietnamese superstar and world-class player GM Le Quang Liem (2737) will be present here to defend his title, he has already won this championship three times in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Will he be able to win it for the fourth time?

GM Le Quang Liem with his 2017 edition's Championship Trophy. | Photo: Official tournament page. http://vietnamchess.vn

Chinese super GM Wang Hao (2712) will be the second seed of the tournament. He has many championships under his belt including strong opens like Sharjah and Al-Ain classic. He is a strong contender for the title.

GM Wang Hao (2712) | Photo:Chinese chess

Indian contingent will be led by former national champion GM Sethuraman SP (2646).

GM Sethuraman SP | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Future of Indian chess GM Aravindh Chithambaram will be here to follow his great performance from Sunway Sitges Open 2017.

GM Aravindh Chithambaram | Photo: Amruta Mokal

The strong player from far west Argentinian GM Mereco Sandro (2632) will be the 5th seed. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

What really attracts these top grandmasters is Huge Prize-money.

Fifty-five thousand US Dollars (US$55,000) will be the total prize fund, this includes 26 main prizes. Prizes shall be awarded are as follows :

Master Category:

1st: $15,000; 2nd: $6,500; 3rd: $4,500; 4th: $2,500; 5th: $1,600; 6th: $1100; 7th: $1000; 8th: $900; 9th: $800; 10th: $700; 11th: $600; 12th: $500; 13th to 16th $300; 17th to 20th $250; 21st to 26th $200.

To encourage female participation and to boost women chess, organizers have declared prizes for top six women participants. The prize money is as follows:

Best women: 1st: $5,000; 2nd: $2,500; 3rd: $1,500; 4th: $700; 5th: $500; 6th: $300;

Best U16 $200. Best Seniors >60 $200.

Challengers Category:

Main Prizes: 1st: $1,200; 2nd: $800; 3rd: $600; 4th: $500; 5th: $350; 6th: $250.

Best women: 1st: $500; 2nd: $300; 3rd: $200.

Best U12: $150. Best Seniors >60: $150.

Excellent IM/GM norm chances :

There are great chances to achieve your IM/ GM norm in this tournament as many strong players are going to play here. Last year a total of 85 titled players took part including 29 GMs, 9 WGMs, 26 IMs and 3 WIMs.

Starting list for 2018

No.		Name	FideID	FED	Rtg	sex
1	GM	Le Quang Liem	12401137	VIE	2737
2	GM	Wang Hao	8602883	CHN	2712
3	GM	Iturrizaga Bonelli Eduardo	3901211	VEN	2650
4	GM	Sethuraman S.P.	5021596	IND	2646
5	GM	Mareco Sandro	112275	ARG	2632
6	GM	Gordievsky Dmitry	24112798	RUS	2630
7	GM	Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son	12401110	VIE	2630
8	GM	Aravindh Chithambaram Vr.	5072786	IND	2617
9	GM	Wen Yang	8602956	CHN	2608
10	GM	Zhao Jun	8602522	CHN	2599
11	GM	Bernadskiy Vitaliy	14100371	UKR	2588
12	GM	Karthikeyan Murali	5074452	IND	2585
13	GM	Rozum Ivan	24104272	RUS	2582
14	GM	Narayanan.S.L	5058422	IND	2573
15	GM	Bogdanovich Stanislav	14115298	UKR	2560
16	GM	Pichot Alan	110973	ARG	2552
17	GM	Krysa Leandro	116807	ARG	2548
18	GM	Lei Tingjie	8605114	CHN	2541	w
19	GM	Vishnu Prasanna. V	5030692	IND	2526
20	GM	Sivuk Vitaly	14116502	UKR	2524

As you can see top 20 players are above 2500 rating, a solid performance will ensure you a norm.

Entry Fee:

For all players based on March 1st, 2018 FIDE rating list, the entry fee is as follows: Registration is free for GM, IM, WGM, and players with a FIDE Rating of 2500 and above. For Master category, the entry fee is as follows:

Above 2399	$50
2350 to 2399	$75
2300 to 2349	$100
2250 to 2299	$125
2100 to 2250	$150
2000 to 2099	$200

For Challenger category: $50 for players rated from 1900 to 2100 and $75 for others.

Overview of last year's HD Bank Open

What about the accommodation and flight tickets?

ChessBase India Power offers you the best packages to play at the HD Bank 2018.

Rs. 50,000* on individual basis

Rs. 40,000* on sharing basis

The above charge includes:

1. Flights

2. Hotels

3. Visa

4. Insurance

*Terms and conditions apply

Contact ChessBase India Power now:

Hotline and Whatsapp: 09106908500 (10 a.m to 8 p.m.)

Email: accommodations@chessbase.in

Attractions in Ha Noi city and its surroundings:

Ha Noi city is located on the banks of the Red River, visiting the river shore will surely be a pleasant experience! | Photo: www.tripadvisor.com

Hoan Keim Lake. Known as the lake of the returned (or restored) sword, this lake marks the historical center of ancient Hanoi. | Photo: www.touropia.com

This is one of the temples of Confucius and home of the nation’s first university. Originally built in 1070, the temple is meant to honor all scholars.| Photo: Touropia

The old quarter is a mesh of the old and the new, as antique narrow streets snake between old brick buildings, covered in modern motorbikes and street vendors. | Photo: www.ndh.vn

Arguably one of the most incredible destinations in all of Vietnam is Halong Bay. Although it is over 160 km (100 miles) east of Hanoi, it is definitely worth the journey. |Photo: Robert Balwin

The scenery of Tam Coc is the first thing you’ll notice. Tam Coc is just 90 minutes south of Hanoi. | Photo: Vietnampackagetravel.com

Just 25 km (15 miles) outside of Hanoi, on the other side of the Red River, is Bat Trang.The village itself is ancient, dating back more than 1,000 years, and it is known for its ceramics.| Photo: Dalat Trip

ChessBase India wishes you a fun-filled successful 8th HD Bank Open 2018. In case you do decide to play, don't forget to contact ChessBase India Power for the best rates for travel and stay.

Because chess players must just play chess!

Download the circular for HD Bank open from ChessBase India calendar.

Related news:

	Travel to Vietnam this March for the 9th HDBank 2019 @ 12/02/2019 by Shahid Ahmed (en)
	HD Bank 2017: Le Quang Liem wins; Vishnu best among Indians @ 19/03/2017 by Priyadarshan Banjan (en)
	HD Bank 2016: Diptayan pulls it through @ 14/03/2016 by Priyadarshan Banjan (en)