Buddhika Amarasinghe(SJP Chess Club, in photo above) and Dahamdi Sanudula(Museaus Colleged) excelled at the Sri Lanka National Amateur Chess Championship 2020. The top seed of the open section, Buddika Amarasinghe scored a staggering 8/9 points with only a loss to the 1st runner up Y. Jayaweera to secure the championship along with Rs. 40,000/=. Half-a-point below him were Y Jayaweera (Kandy YMCA Chess Club) and youngster Mohamed Nabil Nazir (Gateway College – Dehiwala) who tied for 2nd place with 7.5/9. Ultimately Jayaweera came out on top by virtue of a superior tie break to walk home with the Silver while Nabil had to settle for the bronze, both receiving a shred cash award Rs. 20,000/=.
Meanwhile, in the women’s section, WCM KM Dahamdi Sanudula (Musaeus College. in photo above) emerged champion with a flawless score of 9/9 and was awarded the Trophy, Gold Medal with Rs. 25,000/= in cash for her astounding performance. M Tharushi Sandeepani of Devi Balika Vidyalaya clinched the Silver Medal along with the Rs. 15,000/= cash prize with a formidable score of 7.5/9. Tharuli Vihasna Ranganath (Yoshida Shokanji International School) ended up the 2nd runner up with 6.5/9 points received the Bronze with Rs. 10,000/=..
The, Sri Lanka National & Women’s National Amateur Chess Championships, the gateway for the National level was conducted by the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka for the players less than 2000 in FIDE rating and players not bearing any FIDE titles greater than CM. The event was held for four days from the 1st to 4th October 2020 at the Sanhida Reception Hall on the Swiss System in 9 rounds. A total of 170 players, 119 and 51 players in the open and women’s sections respectively participated in the events.
But the prizes didn’t end with top three! Up to 15 players from the open section and 10 from the women’s section walked home with cash prizes, amounting to a total cash fund of Rs 230,000.00 for the entire event.
The Prize Distribution was held just after the event with Mr. Malith Akalanka, The Secretary General and other officials of the CFSL.