HO CHI MINH CITY, March 10 -- Chinese chess master Li Chao was listed the top seed at the HD Bank Cup International Open Chess Championship slated here for March 16 to 23, organizers announced here on Tuesday.

Previously, organizers selected Vietnam's Le Quang Liem (Elo 2,676) as the top seed, and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son (Elo 2,659) the second, but in the very last minutes, Li (Elo 2,721) registered and replaced Liem's position.

Li was once ranked in the world's top 20 and was the Asian champion in 2013.

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

It has attracted 85 chess players from 14 countries and regions.

The best male player will receive 12,000 U.S. dollars, the runner-up 5,000 U.S. dollars and the third-place 3,000 U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, the best female player will get 3,000 U.S. dollars.