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. Ha Noi city is located on the banks of the Red River, visiting the river shore will surely be a pleasant 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 Schedule
Round 1 starts March 10th. There are four days with double-rounds.
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 the 2017 edition’s Championship Trophy
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
Prizes
What really attracts these top grandmasters is the huge prize-money!
Fifty-five thousand US Dollars (US$55,000) will be the total prize fund, which 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
As you can see top 20 players are above 2500 rating, a solid performance will ensure you a norm.
| No. | Name | FED | Rtg | ||
| 1 | GM | Le Quang Liem | VIE | 2737 | |
| 2 | GM | Wang Hao | CHN | 2712 | |
| 3 | GM | Sethuraman S.P. | IND | 2646 | |
| 4 | GM | Mareco Sandro | ARG | 2632 | |
| 5 | GM | Gordievsky Dmitry | RUS | 2630 | |
| 6 | GM | Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son | VIE | 2630 | |
| 7 | GM | Aravindh Chithambaram Vr. | IND | 2617 | |
| 8 | GM | Wen Yang | CHN | 2608 | |
| 9 | GM | Zhao Jun | CHN | 2599 | |
| 10 | GM | Bernadskiy Vitaliy | UKR | 2588 | |
| 11 | GM | Karthikeyan Murali | IND | 2585 | |
| 12 | GM | Rozum Ivan | RUS | 2582 | |
| 13 | GM | Narayanan.S.L | IND | 2573 | |
| 14 | GM | Bogdanovich Stanislav | UKR | 2560 | |
| 15 | GM | Pichot Alan | ARG | 2552 | |
| 16 | GM | Krysa Leandro | ARG | 2548 | |
| 17 | GM | Lei Tingjie | CHN | 2541 | |
| 18 | GM | Vishnu Prasanna. V | IND | 2526 | |
| 19 | GM | Sivuk Vitaly | UKR | 2524 | |
| 20 | GM | Tran Tuan Minh | VIE | 2522 |
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.
Attractions in Ha Noi city and its surroundings
Known as the lake of the returned (or restored) sword, Hoan Keim Lake lake marks the historical centre of ancient Hanoi.
Hoan Kiem Lake | Photo: http://www.touropia.com
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.
Ha Noi old quarter | Photo: http://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.
Halong Bay | 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 Ha Noi, 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.
Bat Trang pottery village | Photo: Dalat Trip
by Atul Dahale,
Source: https://en.chessbase.com/post/hd-bank-open-vietnam-2018