This event is the first chess tournament co-organised and sponsored by Ba Ria-Vung Tau Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (DCST), Vietnam Chess Federation, and The Grand Ho Tram Strip, a leading entertainment complex at Ho Tram beach on November 19 and 20.

The Grand Ho Tram Strip to support Vietnam’s chess talents

This year’s tournament will attract 500 chess players nationwide, including numerous local and foreign grandmasters and medalists.

Competitors will challenge each other for 84 sets of medals, including prizes for singles, teams, and couples in rapid and super blitz chess. The Grand Ho Tram Strip is proud to be the main sponsor for the event in which the total prize pool is estimated to be more than $18,000.

According to Phung Nguyen Tuong Minh, deputy director of the Sports Management Board at the DCST, chess competition in the region has flourished lately. Ba Ria-Vung Tau has also been the venue of several national chess tournaments, particularly for young people, and has produced many outstanding chess players who have won gold medals in Asian competitions. They include Nghiem Thao Tam and Bui Duc Huy in the Eastern Asia Youth Online Chess Championship 2021.

This year, the provincial People’s Committee accepted a proposal from the DCST to host the event. “Rapid chess attracts a large audience due to its high speed and high concentration requirements. The event is an ideal opportunity for our province’s chess players to compete with talented national and international competitors,” Minh said.

The competition is intended to not only promote and support the sturdy development of national chess but also contribute a significant amount to the tourism promotion campaign of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, with an ambitious goal to build up The Grand Ho Tram Strip as Vietnam’s premium resort and entertainment complex.

Walter Power, CEO of The Grand Ho Tram Strip revealed, “I am a passionate chess player myself and have long believed that chess is more than a game. It is an exercise in pattern recognition and problem-solving, mathematics, and, at times, art. The promotion of chess can positively impact the academic performance of our young students. The Grand Ho Tram is honoured to work with the Vietnam Chess Federation and the provincial government to raise awareness of this beautiful game and help bringing Vietnamese chess to an even higher level.”

During a meeting with The Grand Ho Tram Strip’s leaders, Nguyen Dinh Trung, director of the DCST agreed that the province will continue to collaborate with The Grand Ho Tram to organise many more events to attract the renowned Vietnamese and international chess players.

“To enhance the province’s position on Vietnam’s chess map, it’s necessary to simultaneously transform chess tournaments into a unique tourism product of Ba Ria-Vung Tau,” said Trung.

The resort has supported well-known sports events such as the Ho Tram Open Golf Tournament in 2015, several IBF/WBO boxing events, and a mixed martial arts event, AFC21, in October.

Situated 120km from Ho Chi Minh City, The Ho Tram Strip is an ideal venue for events of different scopes. It also provides a variety of all-in-one experience for travellers thanks to its two international 5-star resorts, InterContinental Grand Ho Tram, and Holiday Inn Resort Ho Tram Beach, with over 1,100 luxury rooms, 15 restaurants and bars, eight swimming pools, two award-winning spas, and a premier golf course named The Bluffs.