In order to have a specific view of the scale of HDBank International Chess Tournament compared to other tournaments in ASEAN and ASIA, we have statistically selected the tournaments of countries with strong chess movement in ASEAN such as Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia or the leading chess countries such as Russia, India and China in terms of : traditional league, number of players - Participating countries, prize fund, remuneration mode. Through the overall evaluation, the standard and attraction of HDBank International Chess Tournament over 8 times is located in top of head for Asia.

1. India:
India, the cradle of chess, has a lot of quality open tournaments with large scale and most of its have been maintained over years. These make it easier for their young players to improve chess skill and approach title norm. For example : Delhi Open, Chennai Open, Bhubaneswar (Odisha) GM Open, Mumbai Mayor's Cup GM Open, Goa GM Open, Ahmedabad GM Open, Bhopal GM open, IIFL Wealth Mumbai GM Open.

In the list above, the Delhi Open has the largest prize structur with nearly $ 110,000 in 2018. However, the number of high-class players is quite modest. For the first time after 16 times, the tournament had one super-GM registered, and there were 3 players in the 2600+ group of 26 grandmasters (GM). The number of country attending is 28, a record of the tournament up to today. The total number of players is 450 divided in three categories A, B, and C. The reward for the champion of Group A is USD 7,850.

In Indian open tournaments, the inviting money for the 2600+ players to participate in two consecutive seasons is $ 1000, they also sponsor for twoways-air ticket. Class players including GM, IM, WGM, WIM and players Elo on 2200 are free of charge in the form of room sharing. In 2019, the prize fund is expected to raise to over 142,000 USD.

2. Russia:
Russia is the great nation of chess. The historical tradition shows that Russia is a country with many world champions and grandmasters. Therefore, the attraction for super-GM are quite a lot. We find that Russia has three major traditional tournaments for years:  the Moscow Open, Aeroflot Open, Chigorin Memorial. 

Chess Cup RSSU called Moscow Open is a tournament with a long life. In the 14th 2018 tournament, there were 751 players from 29 countries participating, competing in 5 categories A (for men), B (for women), C, D1, D2. Group A champion receive more than 8,000 USD. Regarding the number of players competing in Group A, there are 15 GMs, of which 3 are more than 2,600+ elo players.

Aeroflot Open 2018 has a prize fund up to $ 160,000. In which, the prize for Group A (Elo player over 2549) is nearly 74,000 USD, Group B (Elo player from 2300 to 2549) is nearly 40,000 USD, Group C (Player below 2300) is nearly 20,000 USD .

Chigorin Memorial is a tournament in honor of Mikhail Chigorin (1850-1908), the founder of the Soviet Chess School, characterized by a fast, bold style of play. The 25th tournament in 2018, there were total of 150 players attended from 21 countries. The remarkable number of players is 29 GMs including 11 2600+ elo players. The prize fund is US $ 25,000, the champion receives over US $ 4,500.

3.China:
China has two big tournaments, attracting the world's attention as the Shenzhen Chess Masters and Danzhou Super GM. With the Shenzen Chess Master tournament, two Chinese No.1 and No.2 players will be invited to play against four super-GM players in the top 20 in the world. In 2018, 2nd tournament had the total prize up to 90,000 USD.

In 2010, The first Danzhou Super GM only invited the top 10 best Chinese players to attend. However, over time, when the Chinese chess players' power became much stronger, the organizers spent a half seat to invite super-GM over the world to compete. In 2018, Quang Liem (Vietnam) was honored to be invited. The total prize is 60,000 USD, while the champion receives 20,000 USD.

Chinese Chess Association held Hainan International Chess Open Tournament for all players with total prize of 64,500 USD, the champion will receive 15,000 USD. The tournament has 12 grandmasters (including 2 GM Elo 2700+ and 4 GM with Elo 2600+). However, this tournament is not maintained in following years.

Recently at the end of 2018, the Chinese Chess Association launched the "The 1st Binhai Cup China International Chess Open Tournament". The total number of players attending was 62 players (13 GM, 6 GM was 2600+), from 12 countries and territories. The prize fund is nearly 50,000 USD, of which the first prize was worth 15,000 USD.

4. UAE: 

The United Arab Emirates is a country in West Asia very well organized international open chess tournaments. In addition to the two traditional awards, the Dubai Open (20 times organized), and the Abu Dhabi Masters (25 times organized), the UAE recently launched the Sharjah Masters.

The Dubai Open in 2018 has a total prize of $ 50,000. Champion received $ 13,000. A total of 150 players from 33 countries. The number of GMs is 36, including 2 2700+ players, 18 2600+ players.

Abu Dhabi Masters in 2018 has a total prize of $ 61,000 allocated into categories: Masters, Open, Juniors, Blitz, Homeland, Family Team. Master category has 150 players attending from 32 countries. The number of GM is 47, of which 5 GMs are 2700+ and 17 GM is 2600+. Winning the Open category is 13,000 USD.

The 2nd Sharjah Masters in 2018 has a prize fund of $ 60,000 with $ 15,000 for the champion. There are 129 players participating including 32 GMs, noted that there are 6 players of 2700+, 16 players of 2600+.

5. Qatar:
In 2014, Qatar launched the tournament called Qatar Masters Open with prize fund up to 100,000 USD. The total number of registered players is 150, including 92 GMs with 14 players 2700+, 41 players 2600+. The quality of the tournament is extremely high. In 2015, the award continued to be maintained and No.1 player Carlsen (Elo over 2800) participated. However, this is also the last tournament of Qatar Master Open, causes may not find funding.

6. Malaysia:
Dato 'Arthur Tan Malaysian Open, part of the Malaysian Chess Festival series to celebrate Malaysia's independence, is 15 years old in 2018. There are 349 players to 17 countries, divided into 3 categories (Master, Challenger, Senior). The Master category has only one player Elo over 2700 (Wang Hao), remaining are 2500 or less. There are 11 Grand Master participating. Total prize worth 20,000 USD.

7. Indonesia:
In the past, Indonesia once held a huge Indonesian Open Chess Championship. However, due to the problem of not finding sponsors, the tournament stopped at the 3rd time in 2013. The total prize is up to 100,000 USD with of 20,000 USD for the winner. There were a total of 108 players registered, including a super-GM, 8 players of the 2600+ group, number of GM is 36.

Indonesia also held the Japfa Classic (Category XVI, elo average 2626-2650). This tournament took place only once in 2000, bringing together the famous players who were in high form like Judit Polgar, Anatoly Karpov, Alexander Khalifman.

In 2003, Indonesia launched Japfa Chess Festival. This is an international chess festival that invites to limit the strong players (men and women) in the region to attend. Grandmaster Nguyen Anh Dung, Dao Thien Hai, Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy .. were invited to attend. The tournament was maintained until 2018. However, in terms of awards and level, it is still not as good as the HDBank international chess tournament.

8. Philippines:
The Philippines' most highlights open tournament, called Philippine International Chess Championship, was launched in 2014. In 2017, it changed its name to Negros International Open. However, in 2018, the tournament was renamed again. In 2017 tournament, there were 121 players, in which the Master category had only 1 player 2600+ as Nigel Short D. The number of GM has 7 players in total.

The total prize is 12,700 USD (for foreign players) and 2,650 USD (for Malaysian players). Among them, the champion of Master category is about 3,000 USD; winner of Challenger category are nearly 500 USD.

9. Thailand: 

Thailand has a traditional Bangkok Chess Club Open. In 2018, the tournament is 18 years old with 230 players from 42 countries and territories. In which Master category has 4 players 2600+ (Nigel Short D is a familiar player of the tournament). The number of GM is 15. Master champion less than 3,200 USD; Challenger champion more than 600 USD. The tournament fund is about 12,000 USD.

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