Chess players from India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are all competing in the second phase of the tournament that opened in Hanoi on May 22 following the first phase held in Quang Ninh province from May 14 to 19.

On the first competition day, in the International Grandmaster (GM) category, Tran Tuan Minh of Vietnam took the lead and Priasmoro Novendra of Indonesia came second after their two winning matches.

Young Angelo of the Philippines was the only player winning two first matches to rank first with two points in the international master (IM) category. Second position went to Duong Vu Anh of Vietnam scoring 1.5 points.

The tournament due to last through to May 26 is expected to increase the international ELO rating of both Vietnamese and foreign chess players.

According to the organisers the Vietnam Chess Federation, the results of the tournament will be sent to the International Chess Federation (FIDE) as the event is expected to offer chess players the opportunity to gain the standards of female international grandmaster (WGM) and male international master (IM).

IM is the second highest official chess title after International Grandmaster (GM). Previously, Vietnamese players who wanted to complete their IM or GM standards often went abroad for competitions. The international chess tournaments held locally will therefore help them to save both time and travel costs.