Vietnam's Grandmaster Le Quang Liem won the trophy of the HD Bank Cup International Open Chess Championship which ended here on Sunday, walking away with a cash prize of 12,000 US dollars.

Liem became the champion with 7.5 points after he defeated India's Padmini Rout in the final game of the nine-set tournament held here from March 15 under the Swiss competing system.

Meanwhile, Singapore's Zhang Zhong was the runner-up with 7 points after he held a draw with Vietnam's GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son who was champion of last year's tournament.

China's Li Chao, who was the top seed of the tournament, unfortunately lost to the Philippines' Gomez John Paul in the ninth game, winning 6.5 points and ranking third.

Before the final game, Liem, Zhang and Li led the tournament, each with 6.5 points, and their rankings were only set after the final game.

In women's event, Vietnam's Le Kieu Thien Kim upset many star players to win the title with 6 points.

Co-organized by the Vietnam Chess Federation (VCF) and HCM City Chess Association, and sponsored by the Vietnam HD Bank for consecutive five years, the HD Bank Cup is the biggest international chess tournament held in Vietnam.

This year's tournament attracted 80 chess players coming from 13 countries and regions, of whom 43 players were from host Vietnam.