Chess prodigy Thehas shines at Asian Youth Championships
View(s):He lost only two games enroute to the silver medal, including a loss against top seed Alimzhan Zhauynbay of Kazkhstan. Entering the last round in fourth place on 6 points, Thehas faced the decisive encounter against Turbat Todmunkh from Mongolia. His hard-fought victory in the game coupled with a loss to the second placed player made Thehas go up in the standings to second place behind winner Nurali Bolashakov of Kazakhstan, and ahead of Tsogtbileg Anand of Mongolia.
Thehas Rithmitha Kiringoda
This was Thehas’ second victory at the global stage, having previously claimed the gold medal in the Open Under-9 Category at the World Schools Chess Championship in 2023 held in Rhodes, Greece. A student of Ananda College, Colombo, Thehas is just one of the new crop of young
Sri Lankan talent emerging on the chess scene including 18 other players who participated at the Asian Youth Chess Championships.
Apart from Thehas, most other players also outperformed their starting ranks with D.D.L.N. Dandeniya scoring 6 out of 9 points to finish seventh in the Open Under-14 category after starting 41st. Vinuka Duhain Wijerathna scored 6 out of 9 points to finish 12th in the Open Under-16 category.
The Asian Youth Chess Championship was held in Almaty Kazakhstan in 12 age categories from Under-8 to Under-18. The tournament saw the participation of 643 players from 33 countries across the Asian continent. The host, Kazakhstan emerged as team champions of the event with 10 medals including five golds. Players under the FIDE flag won four gold medals while India, Iran and Vietnam claimed a gold medal each.
The tournament eventually completed on June 20 with the Asian Youth Blitz Championship with Thehas once again showing off his accomplishments with a creditable sixth place, scoring 6.5 out of 9 points. Vaneesha Oshini Gomes also had an outstanding performance in the Girls Under-10 blitz scoring 7 out of 9 points to just miss out on a podium finish, eventually finishing as fifth. KM Dahamdi Sandula was Sri Lanka’s other top 10 finisher in the Blitz tournament with a ninth place finish in the Girls Under-18 category. Kazakhstan also emerged champions of the Blitz tournament with three gold, two silver and two bronze medals.