Chess prodigy Susal de Silva dreams of becoming a Grand Master
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Susal won the Under-12 title at the Youth Chess Championship in 2018
Sri Lanka’s chess prodigy Susal Thewjan de Silva of Nalanda College is on track to achieve his dream of becoming a Grand Master in the sport. The 14-year-old lived up to his promise when he emerged champion at the Sri Lanka Chess Grand Prix in addition to being second runner-up at the Sri Lanka National Chess Championship 2020.
Hailing from Anuradhapura where he attended D.S. Senanayake Model Primary School before being selected to Nalanda after passing the scholarship exam in Grade 5, Susal won the Western Asian Under-12 Championship in 2017 to be crowned the youngest FIDE Master when he was just 11-years-old.
Last year he created history when he became the youngest player to be selected to the national at the age of 13.
He has been in prolific form this year emerging champion at the Athugalpura International Chess Championship, Colombo International Chess Championship and National Rapid Chess Championship.
He achieved his dream of defeating a Grandmaster from Russia at the Colombo Championship where he was on top in 10 out of 11 matches winning eight, drawing two and losing only to former national champion.
“This time it was totally different due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We had to play adhering strictly to the health guidelines. I was a bit nervous during the first round because I sat for the game after a few months, but I managed to win it,” he said.
Susal Thewjan de Silva displaying his trophy collection
The second son in a family of two brothers, his mother was a teacher while his father is a businessman. It was a gift of a small chess board for his sixth birthday which ignited spark inside to play chess.
He was first coached by Milinda Rathnayaka but it was Akila Kavinda, a former who polished this uncut gem. Akila Kavinda, who represented the Sri Lanka national chess team several times, took Susal under his wing and trained him. As an eight-year-old Susal used to travel every weekend to Kurunegala from Anuradhapura to learn chess from Akila Kavinda.
In 2014 he was the champion in Anuradhapura district selection and won the bronze medal at All-Island Youth Chess Championship (Under-8) and was selected to play in very important international chess tournaments. Susal represented the Sri Lanka team at the World Schools tournament in South Africa and Asian Schools tournament at Uzbekistan in 2014. He has toured South Africa, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Singapore and India.
“Without the support of Akila Sir, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Sir sacrificed a lot and worked hard to lift me up. And Milinda Sir is the one who encouraged me initially. I want to be a Grand Master one day. I am working towards it. Because of the COVID pandemic I couldn’t participate in foreign tournaments and couldn’t achieve my goals,” said Susal, who watches cricket matches during his leisure time and also plays table tennis with his brother who is his biggest fan.
He was 13-years-old and the youngest player who was selected to the National team in Sri Lankan Chess History and emerged Champion at Ethugalpura International Chess Championship 2019 and Colombo International Chess Championship 2020.
He emerged champion at 7th Sri Lanka Chess Grand Prix 2020 and was second runner-up at Sri Lanka National Chess Championship 2020. He emerged champion at All-Island Schools Chess Championship 2017 and was selected to play at World Schools Chess Championship 2017 in Romania and he increased his international rating by 150. He played two international rating tournaments at Malaysia in 2018 and increased his ratings by 160. He has been working with Akila Kavinda since 2014.
“Without the support of Akila Sir, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I like chess very much, that is my passion. I want to be a Grand Master one day,” he said.
Special achievements:
- Champion at the Western Asian Chess Championship 2017 (Under-12)
- Champion at the Buddhi International Chess Championship 2018
- Selected to the national chess team of Sri Lanka (fifth place) in 2019
- Champion at the Athugalpura International Chess Championship 2019
- Champion at the Colombo International Chess Championship 2020
- Champion at the National Rapid Chess Championship 2020
- Champion at the seventh Sri Lanka Chess Grand Prix 2020
- Second runner-up at the Sri Lanka National Chess Championship 2020
- Youngest member of the national team
Other achievements:
- Youth Chess Championship 2014 (Under-8) – bronze medal
- Participated in the World Youth Chess Championship (Under-8) in South Africa
- Schools’ Chess Individual Chess Championship 2016 (Under-9) – champion
- Participated in the World Schools’ Chess Championship 2015 (Under-9) in Thailand
- Participated in the Asian Schools’ Chess Championship 2015 (Under-9) in Singapore
- Youth Chess Championship 2016 (Under-10) – bronze medal
- Youth Chess Championship 2017 (Under-10) – bronze medal
- Youth Chess Championship 2018 (Under-12) – champion
- Participated in the World Youth Chess Championship 2019 (Under-12) in India
- Participated in the World Junior Chess Championship 2019 in India
- Schools’ Chess Individual Chess Championship 2018 (Under-13) – champion
- Youth Chess Championship 2019 (Under-12) – champion