Sri Lanka Championships: De Silva and Ranasinghe clinch titles
The reigning national champion, 17-year-old FM Susal de Silva of Nalanda College, won the Sri Lanka National Chess Championship 2022 for the second consecutive year scoring 10/13. The Sri Lanka National Chess Championships 2022, with a half-million rupees prize fund, took place from April 23 to May 1 in the Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research Institute, Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo. Both tournaments, organized by the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka, were 14-players round-robins with classical time control. One of the most promising players in the country, Susal De Silva, grabbed the lead from the very start and beat his main rival Ranindu Liyanage in the eighth round clash, which gave him so much needed tie-breaking points to win the title, the gold medal and shared cash prize. On his way to this achievement, Susal scored eight victories and suffered just a single defeat at the hands of Achinthya Shamane Kaluarachchi. The top-seed FM, Ranindu Dilshan Liyanage of Ananda College, netted 10 points and tied for first place but settled for silver due to inferior tiebreaks. FM Isuru Alahakoon of Sri Lanka Navy claimed bronze, scoring 8½/13. Unfortunately, the women’s event did not bring together the country’s best players as the reigning champion, Tharushi Niklesha and Harshana Thilakarathne (rated over 2300), withdrew due to academic reasons. WIM Sachini Ranasinghe confidently won her fifth national title, scoring 9/13. Desandi Dihansa Gamage of Sirimavo Bandaranaike College finished just a half-point behind and earned silver. Janandani Abeysinghe of NSBM Green University came out third with 8/13. The top five players in both events qualified for the Sri Lanka national teams to participate in the 44th Chess Olympiad 2022. The awards ceremony was held on May 1 at Hotel Taj Samudra, right after the final round. Mr Luxman Wijesuriya, President CFSL, General Secretary of the Commonwealth Chess Association and Mr Shiang Wong, Deputy General Manager – Product Marketing of SLT Mobitel (the primary sponsor of the national chess federation), presented the awards to the champions. The games can be seen via the links below: Sri Lanka National Chess Championship 2022Sri Lanka Women’s National Chess Championship 2022 Final standings Open: 1 De Silva Susal 2162 10 2 Liyanage Ranindu Dilshan 2345 10 3 Alahakoon Isuru 2014 8½ 4 Kiriella K G T S D 1737 8 5 Nabil Nazar Mohamed 1680 7½ 6 Kaluarachchi Achinthya S 1801 6½ 7 Senevirathne S D B K 1757 6 8 Bandara Dhanushka 1882 6 9 Tennakoon Lisara Samadhith 1680 5½ 10 Amarasinghe A A C B 1855 5½ 11 Lahiru N P G Sithija 1783 5 12 Saravanabaavan Brijeash 1643 4½ 13 Wijekoon Chandana 1823 4½ 14 De Silva Elath Mathanga 1816 3½ Final standings Women: 1 WIM Ranasinghe S D 1698 9 2 Gamage Desandhi Dhihansa 1447 8½ 3 Abeysinghe H M H Janandani 1465 8 4 WCM Wijesuriya G P Y 1581 7½ 5 WCM Wickramasinghe Minethma 1527 7 6 WCM Sanudula K M Dahamdi 1710 7 7 Mapa M M W H 1587 7 8 Pallie Ehsha Mishela 1475 6½ 9 Abeysekara Yasasi Geemini 1324 6 10 Wijesinghe W M M N 1509 5 11 Ramanayake Nemindi Linaya 1387 4 12 Vithanawasam Oneli 1449 2 13 Yapa Bandara Chamodya 1533 3 14 Yashora Tiumi 1624 2
Gretarsson dominates Icelandic Championship
Hjörvar Steinn Grétarsson defended his title of Icelandic champion with flying colours, winning his second straight national championship with a round to spare. The rating favourite delivered a commanding performance of 7½/9, conceding his opponents just three draws. The 2022 Icelandic Championship, a 10-player round-robin tournament (Elite), took place from April 22 to May 1 in Reykjavik. Despite suffering two defeats, the second-rated Hannes Stefansson (pictured above) scored 6/9 and claimed silver – a great improvement compared to the 2021 edition of this event. There was a three-way tie for the third place, but bronze goes to Gudmundur Kjartansson, thanks to the best result in the direct encounters with his opponents. Alongside the Elite round-robin, a 25-player Candidates tournament (Swiss system) was held. Aleksandr Domalchuk-Jonasson (pictured below) emerged as the winner of this side event. Final standings Elite: 1 GM Gretarsson, Hjorvar Steinn 2542 7½ 2 GM Stefansson, Hannes 2525 6 3 GM Kjartansson, Gudmundur 2430 5 4 GM Steingrimsson, Hedinn 2538 5 5 IM Stefansson, Vignir Vatnar 2501 5 6 GM Thorhallsson, Throstur 2422 4½ 7 FM Heimisson, Hilmir Freyr 2321 4½ 8 GM Thorfinnsson, Bragi 2419 3½ 9 Mai, Alexander Oliver 2177 2½ 10 FM Thorhallsson, Simon 2252 1½ Final standings Candidates: 1 Domalchuk-Jonasson, Aleksandr 2169 7 2 Ingvason, Johann 2172 6½ 3 Briem, Benedikt 2062 6½ 4 Jonsson, Gauti Pall 2064 6 5 Heidarsson, Arnar Milutin 2019 6 6 Hauksdottir, Hrund 1746 5½ 7 Thorisson, Benedikt 1778 5 8 Ragnarsson, Johann 1913 5 9 Omarsson, Josef 1352 5 10 Heidarsson, Mikael Bjarki 1574 5 Official website: skak.is/skakthing Photo: IEB, Íslenskir skákmenn
Vázquez Maccarini wins Puerto-Rican Women’s Championship
FM Danitza Vázquez Maccarini emerged as the winner of Puerto Rico Women’s Championship. The five-round Swiss tournament that brought together nine participants, took place at the University of Puerto Rico, Bayamón Recinto. Danitza turned in a dominating performance winning four straight games and securing the title with a round to spare. Despite forfeiting the last round game and tying for the first place with Natasha Morales Santos, Vazquez Maccarini became the champion as the winner of their third-round direct encounter. Keyshla Vega Jimenes claimed bronze. With this achievement, Danitza qualified for the Puerto Rico Women’s National Team that will be representing the country at the 44th World Olympiad 2022 in Chennai, India, this summer. Final standings: 1 FM Vazquez Maccarini, Danitza 2067 4 2 WIM Morales Santos, Natasha 1967 4 3 WCM Vega Jimenez, Keyshla M. 1656 3½ 4 WCM Rivera Negron, Yanira 1773 3 5 Alvarado Perez, Coralys M. 1502 3 Photo: Federación de Ajedrez de Puerto Rico Facebook page