The 15th Bangkok Chess Club Tournament which also incorporates the Thailand Open Championship 2015 is now underway at the Dusit Thani Resort in Pattaya, Thailand.
Held annually with Thailand’s biggest holiday period when the Songkran Water Festival takes place, the event which is taking place from 12-19 April 2015 comprises an International Open and a Challengers.
The Open has started with 193 players from 38 counties of which from the 77 titled players no less than 20 are Grandmasters.
Tournament in progress
China’s Wang Hao who is making a rare appearance in a open Swiss tournament is the top seed and he is followed by three former champions in Spain’s Francisco Vallejo Pons, England’s Nigel Short and Germany’s Jan Gustafsson who are also looking to repeat.
Poland’s Bartosz Socko and India’s Surya Shekhar Ganguly are the other 2600+ players expected to challenge the 2713 Wang Hao for honours.
In round one there were no major upsets, all the seeded players coming through comfortably but they will certainly have a more serious challenge the next day when there will an early morning start and also two rounds of play!
News and photos by Peter Long
More information on the official website
The Trophies Lined Up!
Live Games Display