Seneviratne and Sanudula emerge ‘B’ chess champs
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Dahamdi Sanudula
S.D.B.K. Seneviratne and Dahamdi Sanudula emerged winners at the Sri Lanka Open and Women’s National ‘B’ Chess Championships 2023 held at Sports Ministry Pavilion in Torrington Square.
Seneviratne won the Open event, competing among 114 players, after scoring 9.5 points out of a possible 11. He was unbeaten throughout the event and only drew three games, in the fourth, eighth and ninth rounds. In the starting rank list of the event, he was placed 17th and had an ELO rating of 1710. But he finished the event by increasing the rating by adding nearly 172 points and with a performance rating of 2034.
Y. Jayaweera secured the second position with a score of 8.5 points out of a possible 11. Seven players tied for the third position, and with a better tie-break, IM Romesh Weerawardane secured the place.
In the Women’s event, Dahamdi Sanudula finished on top among 82 players. After 11 rounds, Sanudula and Ehsha Mishela Pallie tied for the championship scoring 8.5 points out of a possible 11 each. But with a better tie-break, Sanudula claimed the title, and Ehsha had to satisfy with the second position. Three players tied for the third position, and with a superior tie-break, G.P.Y. Wijesuriya secured the slot.
The Top 11 players from the Open event and the Top 13 players from Women’s event will be eligible to compete in the National ‘A’ Chess Championships 2023.
The competition was organised and conducted by the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka, as a selection event for the Sri Lanka National Chess Championship. Both Open and Women’s events were held in 11 rounds swiss-system format and a time control of 90 minutes and an additional 30-second increment from the first move.