Ranindu Dilshan Liyanage of Ananda College, the reigning National Chess Champion, proved to be the strongest by winning the rapid chess tie-breaker after classical games with Minul Sanjula Doluweera of Royal College were drawn.

It is generally accepted that Ranindu is better at faster time controls and the tiebreak just reinforced this point. After scoring a victory in the first rapid game and giving a draw in a winning position in the second one Ranindu Dilshan Liynage became the Champion of the 8th Sri Lanka  Chess Grand Prix 2021 and walked home with Rs 50,000 with the Trophy and the Gold Medal. Minul had to settle for the silver medal and  Rs. 30,000. He was also awarded the winner trophy for the preliminary round-robin event.

In the consolation finals, Theekshana Denuwan of Ananda College beat S Sivathanujan of Kokavil Hindu College in the first game and drew the second one to earn Rs. 20,000 and the Bronze medal.

The top twelve national players participated in the 8th Sri Lanka Chess Grand Prix 2021 which was held by the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka from 28th January to 7th February 2021 with strict health guidelines applied. The total prize fund set by the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka amounted to Rs. 110,000. The award ceremony took place on the 7th of February 2021, just after the finals with Mr. Luxman Wijesuriya, the President of the Chess Federation as the chief guest.

The games can be seen via the following links:

Consolation Finals (8th Sri Lanka Chess Grand Prix – 2021):
https://view.livechesscloud.com#fca060b0-f721-4f8b-a327-deff353e135e

Finals (8th Sri Lanka Chess Grand Prix – 2021): 
https://view.livechesscloud.com#09a04af5-b700-4985-a48b-5b2deec7bf30

Live coverage was arranged at the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka YOUTUBE Channel with commentaries provided by Dulan Edirisinghe, a former National Chess Champion, and KA Akhila Kavinda, a National Team Player.