Pieris wins the title for eighth time
Ravindra Pieris (R) with the title
Ravindra Pieris won the Over-50 category of the Senior National Chess Championship 2022 in better tiebreaker after tying with Derrick Perera with 5½ points out of possible seven games. Pieris remained unbeaten with his style of play throughout the event to become the all time winner, claiming the title for the eighth time.
He who won the National Chess Championships four times, in 1981, 1983, 1995 and 2005, and was one of the leading players in the country at his younger years. He beat Jagath Perera, A.H. Katugampola, Derrick Perera and Ajantha de Silva, while drawing with Ruwan Nandika, P.K. Chandrasiri and Sudharman Pitigala to wain the title and the gold medal.
Derrick beat Antony Samuel, Chandrasiri, Varuna Mahasinghe, Ruwan Nandika and Ajantha de Silva, while recording draws against Joseph Jayasinghe. His only loss was to the eventual winner, as he earned 5½ points and secure the silver medal.
Piyal Chandrasiri, Sudharman Pitigala and Ajantha de Silva tied with 4½ points each, yet Chandrasiri claimed the bronze medal with a better tiebreaker. Chandrasiri beat Thilagharajah Rajasingam, Jagath Samarasuriya, Jagath Perera and Ruwan Nandika, and drew with Pieris while losing to Derrick Perera and Amara Katugampola to reach 4½ points.
Sudharman Pitigala, who beat Jagath Samarasuriya, Jagath Perera, Joseph Jayasinghe, V. Murali, drew with TDR Pieris in last round. He lost to Ruwan Nandika and Ajantha de Silva to be placed fourth while Ajantha de Silva was placed fifth after scoring four wins.
N.A.G. Abeywardena won the Over-65 category of the Sri Lanka Senior National Chess Championship 2022, scoring 3½ points out of 7 games.
The Senior National Chess Championship 2022, conducted by the Chess federation of Sri Lanka (CFSL) was held in last week at CFSL headquarters. Event was held according to the Swiss System in nin rounds. A total of 18 players participated in the event which was the highest number after establishment of the event.
The Sri Lanka Senior National Chess Championships 2022 was held on April 30, May 1 and 2 at the CFSL headquarters in Nugegoda. The competition was held with six rounds and was for players of over 50 years of age.