Dewmini of Musaeus claims title in tie-breaker
Dewmini Kodikara
Dewmini Kodikara of Musaeus College won the CFSL Online Youth Girls Under-14 Chess Championship 2021 with a better tie-breaker after a three-way tie with Chanindi Mewna Attanayake of Devi Balika Vidyalaya and Desandi Dihansa Gamage of Sirimavo Bandaranayake Vidyalaya, scoring 7 points each out of possible 8 games.
Dewmini beat Hasara Madugalle, Sasmi Sithumsa, Chanindi Mewna Attanayake, Oshini Gunawardena, Sanidula Dahamdi, Tenuli Dahamna Rathnayake and Gaveshi Wickramaratne and only lost to Esandi Newansa in the sixth round. Thus, Dewmini Kodikara earned the championship with the gold medal.
Chanindi Mewna Attanayake beat D.G.K.C. Godagama, Uthpala Amarathunga, Nethupama Gamarachchi, Sanulya Edirisinghe, L.H.M.G.S. Somarathne, Dulinma Rathnayake and Oneli Vithanawasam while only losing to the eventual winner, Dewmini. She claimed the silver medal.
Desandi Dihansa Gamage also had a remarkable performance scoring 7 wins against Chanudi Jayasinghe, Senuthi Nithinsa, Ranudi Jayasinghe, Uthpala Amarathunga, Suheli Fernando, Oneli Weerawardena and Esandi Newansa in the last round to claim the bronze medal. She was unfortunate to lose the second round game to Chanthuli de Silva.
The Online Youth Girls Under-14 Chess Championship 2021 was conducted by the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka (CFSL) at the Chess.com flatform with 8 rounds on Swiss System. The CFSL has offered attractive awards and a virtual closing ceremony.
Each player was given 15 minutes per game and 10 seconds increment in each move played. A total of 104 girls from all over the country took part in this event which was played under strict anti-cheating regulations.
The players were allowed to play with laptops or desktops placed to look at a wall in an isolated room. Players were not allowed to stand when games are in progress and were instructed to look at the screen of the computer directly. No one was allowed to enter the room while play was in progress.
All these were observed by arbiters through an open Zoom meeting running throughout the game with camera and microphones open. Task bar was also shared in the zoom to see whether any other programmes running. The games were set to expert checking after games. If any player is found guilty in cheating, server penalties are announced.
CFSL is planning to organise the Under-12, Under-16 and other junior Online Youth Chess Championships in the near future.