11 June

THE opening ceremony of 20thASEAN  +  Age  Group  Chess  Championships 2019, hosted by Myanmar, was held yesterday at Mandalar Thiri Stadium in Mandalay.

The national anthem was first played, followed by salutes to the State Flag.

Afterwards,  Union  Min-ister  for  Health  and  Sports  Dr.  Myint  Htwe  delivered  a  speech.

The championships kicked off with a first move by Union Minister Dr. Myint Htwe.

Next, the Union Minister, members of the Mandalay Re-gion  Government,  Regional  Hluttaw representatives, and officials  from  ASEAN  Chess  Confederation (ACC) and My-anmar Chess Federation cor-dially greeted the players.

Over 190 players from My-anmar  and  237  players  from  Viet Nam, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Mongolia, Ma-laysia, India and Indonesia are participating in the game.

The Championships will be held from 9 to19 June.— MNA(Translated by Kyaw Zin Tun)