On March 10, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov met with a Deputy Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Mr Vu Duc Dam. A dialogue was held on issues of bilateral cooperation. The conversation touched on such important topics as successes of Vietnamese chess players in the international arena and organization of various regional, continental and world championships in recent years.During the conversation, FIDE President suggested several ideas that were adopted by the Vietnamese side after a short discussion.
Special approval was given to the idea of sending Vietnamese students to study in Russian universities and introduction of "Chess in schools" programme.
The Vietnamese side welcomed the possibility of hosting the World Chess Championship and other important FIDE competitions in Vietnam. The Vice Prime Minister instructed the President of the Vietnam Chess Federation to prepare proposals on all the issues discussed in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism and with the Ministry of Education.
On the same day, the opening of the HD Bank Open tournament was held. Recall that this tournament is held for the eighth time. Ms Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao warmly welcomed the guests and participants on behalf of HD Bank.
The event was attended by the President of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov (who gave an interview to the Vietnamese HTV-1 channel), President of the Myanmar Chess Federation Maung Maung Lwin and numerous representatives of the diplomatic corps. This year, 270 players from 21 countries take part in the tournament.
