Two Sri Lankans qualify for Queen’s Chess Festival world event
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Sanudula Dahamdi
Two young Sri Lankan chess players, Sanudula Dahamdi and Oshini Gunawardena, qualified to take part in the finals of the Queen’s Chess Festival, a world event which began this weekend. Sanudula Dahamdi, 14, of Musaeus College, has been selected for the finals of the Queen’s Chess Festival – rating less than 1800 Group while 9-year-old Oshini Gunawardena was selected to the rating less than 1500 for the event.
The event is organised by the FIDE Women’s Commission to promote women participation in the world. It was held as separate continental events in Africa, America, Asia and Europe in four categories of rating less than 1500, rating less than 1800, rating less than 2100 and rating greater than 2100 for female players. The top three players from each continental category event were selected to the finals. Sanudula and Oshini won the bronze Medal in their respective categories from Asia.
Oshini Gunawardena
The organisers of the Queen’s Chess Festival world event have listed players four categories with the two Sri Lankans are drawn into ‘C’ and ‘D’ groups. In addition the Queen’s Online Final Team Blitz has been drawn as a competition among three nations — Kazakhstan, India and Indonesia. Kazakhstan will be represented by Nazerke urgali, Alua Nurmanova, Elnaz Kaliakhment and Malika Japparbekova. The Indian team includes Vantika Agrawal, R. Srimathi, Rebecca Jesumarian and S. Pournami while Medina Warda Aulia, Dita Karenza, Christine Elizabeth and Herfesa Shafira Devi represent Indonesia.
Individual draws:
- Category A (> 2100): Gong Qianyun (Singapore), Agrawal Vantika (India), Yan Tianqi (China)
- Category B (1800-2099): Nurmanova Alua (Kazakhstan), Zhang Xiao (China), Hng Mei-En Emmanuelle (Singapore)
- Category C (1500-1799): Kaliakhmet Elnaz (Kazakhstan), Sanudula K.M. Dahamdi (Sri Lanka), Magpily Francois (Philippines)
- Category D (1500, unrated): S. Pournami (India), Devindya Oshini Gunawardena (Sri Lanka), Herfesa Shafira Devi (Indonesia)