So far, more than 120 chess players from 14 countries and territories have registered for the championships, which will select five top winners for the World Chess Cup’s final round in Norway next year.

They will compete in standard chess and blitz events for both men and women, following the Swiss system.

As host, Vietnam sends 40 players to compete at the event, including top seeds Le Quang Liem, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, Pham Le Thao Nguyen, and Hoang Thi Bao Tram.

In the men’s event, nearly one third of the competitors are international grandmasters, while many young stars will compete in the women’s event, such as the world’s seed No5 Tan Zhongyi and 2012 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix champion Zhao Xue from China.