Harshana Thilakarathne

Last updated
Harshana Thilakarathne
SLNationals2019.jpg
2019 Sri Lanka National Chess Champion Harshana Thilakarathne (left) and Women's Champion Sayuni Gihansa Jayaweera (right)
Full nameG M Harshana Thilakarathne
Country Sri Lanka
Born2003 (age 1920)
Title International Master (2020)
FIDE   rating 2398 (March 2020)
Peak rating 2446 (December 2018)

Harshana Thilakarathne (born 2003) is a Sri Lankan chess player and International Master. [1] He is currently the no 2 chess player in Sri Lanka. He completed his education at the Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala. [2] He is trained by Dmytro Komarow. [3] He started training in the game under the coaching of former veteran national chess player Romesh Weerawardane. [4]

Contents

Career

Harshana claimed a bronze medal in the Under 7 age category at the 2009 Asian Schools Chess Championship which was held in Sri Lanka. [5] He also claimed gold medal in Under 11 age category at the 2014 World Schools Chess Championship which was held in Brazil. [6] He was awarded the Candidate Master title in 2015. He claimed silver medal in Under 13 category at the 2016 World Schools Chess Championship which was held in Sochi, Russia. He also won silver medal in Under 15 category at the 2018 World Schools Chess Championship which was held in Albania. [7] He also won gold medal in Under 16 open category at the 2018 Commonwealth Chess Championship which was held in New Delhi. [6] [8] In the same year, he was awarded the FIDE master title. He also competed at the 43rd Chess Olympiad which was held in Georgia in 2018 where he scored 6 points from 10 matches. [9]

He won his first national chess championship title at the age of 16 in 2019. [10] [11] He also secured silver medal in the Under 18 open event at the 2019 West Asian Youth Chess Championship which was held in New Delhi. [12] He captained the 12 member Sri Lankan contingent in the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad 2020. [13] [14] [15] He was also selected to play in the Online Intercontinental Youth Chess Cup 2020 representing the Asuan Youth Chess team. [16] He also captained the Sri Lankan boys team at the 2020 Asian Boys and Girls Online Chess Championship in their Zonal 3.2 category where boys team secured third position and it was also the inaugural online edition of the Asian Boys and Girls tournament. [17]

In October 2020, he was awarded the prestigious International Master title by the World Chess Federation and became the second Sri Lankan to be awarded the international master title after Romesh Weerawardane. [16] He received the title after securing three norms with the required rating of 2400. [16]

In September 2021, he won the Under 18 category of the 2021 Western Asian Online Youth Chess Championships and his victory also guaranteed his eligibility to compete in the FIDE World Youth and Cadet Chess Grand Prix 2021. [18] [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC (CBC) also known as ComBank is a licensed commercial bank in Sri Lanka and its ownership is private. It was incorporated as a public limited company and it is listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. It is regarded as the largest private bank in Sri Lanka in terms of net worth and capital. The bank is currently the third largest bank in Sri Lanka in terms of total net assets and it lies behind only Bank of Ceylon and People's Bank. It is also the only private sector licensed bank in Sri Lanka to be designated as the higher-tier domestic systemically important bank according to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. The bank currently operates a network of 268 branches and around 932 ATM machines across Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tania Sachdev</span> Indian chess player

Tania Sachdev is an Indian chess player, who holds the FIDE titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She is a two-time Indian women's chess champion in 2006 and 2007, one-time Asian women's chess champion in 2007 and three-time and current Commonwealth Women's Chess Champion in 2016, 2018, and 2019. She is also a chess presenter and commentator.

The World Amateur Chess Championship is a tournament organised by FIDE. The world governing body intended to promote amateur chess play by holding championship tournaments linked to the Olympic Games, but only two events were held.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harika Dronavalli</span> Indian chess player

Harika Dronavalli is an Indian chess player who holds the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM). She has won three bronze medals in the Women's World Chess Championship, in 2012, 2015 and 2017. Harika was honored with the Arjuna Award for the year 2007–08 by the government of India. In 2016, she won the FIDE Women's Grand Prix event at Chengdu, China and rose up from world no. 11 to world no. 5 in FIDE women's ranking. Vladimir Kramnik, Judit Polgar and Viswanathan Anand are her chess inspirations. In 2019, she was awarded the Padma Shri for her contributions towards the field of sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lê Quang Liêm</span> Vietnamese chess player

Lê Quang Liêm is a Vietnamese chess grandmaster, the top-ranked of his country. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2006. Liêm won the Asian Chess Championship in 2019 and was the World Blitz Chess Champion in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugene Torre</span> Filipino chess player and International Master/ (IM)

Eugenio "Eugene" Torre is a Filipino chess player. In 1974, at 22 years old, he became the first Filipino and Asian to qualify for the title Grandmaster. Torre did this by winning the silver medal in the 21st Chess Olympiad in Nice, France. He is considered the strongest chess player the Philippines produced during the 1980s and 1990s, and played for the Philippines on board 1 in seventeen Chess Olympiads. In 2021, Torre was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame.

Suneetha Godigamuwage Wijesuriya is a veteran Sri Lankan chess player and coach. She won Sri Lanka's first ever gold medal at a World Chess Olympiad when she achieved it during the 30th Chess Olympiad which was held in Manila in 1992. Up to date, she remains as the only chess player to have won a gold medal at a World Chess Olympiad for Sri Lanka. She has also won the Sri Lankan Women's National Chess Championship title ten times. She is well known for her efforts in developing the game of chess across the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anoka Primrose Abeyrathne</span> Sri Lankan eco-social entrepreneur/environmentalist

Anoka Primrose Pelpola Ekanayake Abeyrathne, also known as Anoka Abeyratne, is a Sri Lankan conservationist, award-winning social entrepreneur, and activist on sustainable development issues who served as the Asia-Pacific representative to UNHabitat YAB. She is the elected Environment Lead of the Royal Commonwealth Society. In 2019, Abeyrathne appeared in the list of "Iconic Sri Lankan Women Who Have Shaped History" with relative UN Human Rights awardee Sunila Abeysekera and featured as one of the 5 Young Women Changing the World in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vidit Gujrathi</span> Indian chess grandmaster

Vidit Santosh Gujrathi is an Indian chess grandmaster. He attained the title of grandmaster in January 2013, becoming the 30th player from India to do so. As of July 2023, he is the third highest rated player in India. He is the fourth Indian player to have crossed the Elo rating threshold of 2700.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nihal Sarin</span> Indian chess grandmaster (born 2004)

Nihal Sarin is an Indian chess grandmaster and chess prodigy. In 2018, he passed the Elo rating of 2600 at 14 years old, which at the time made him the third youngest player in history to do so.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinara Saduakassova</span> Kazakh chess player

Dinara Saduakassova is a Kazakh chess player who holds the FIDE titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinesh Priyantha</span> Sri Lankan Para-Athlete

Herath Mudiyansalage Dinesh Priyantha, also simply known as Dinesh Priyantha, is a Sri Lankan Paralympic track and field athlete who competes in javelin T46 events. He also served as an important member for the Sri Lanka Army during the Sri Lankan Civil War. He was disabled after being shot at his left arm during the final stages of the war. He is the defending Paralympic champion in men's javelin throw F46 category. On 30 August 2021, he became the first ever Sri Lankan to win a gold medal at the Paralympics when he won the men's javelin throw F46 category. He is the current Paralympic and World record holder in men's javelin throw for F46 category.

Romesh Weerawardane is a Sri Lankan chess player. Weerawardane was the first Sri Lankan to be an International Master. Weerawardane competed in two Chess Olympiads in 2010 and 2016, scoring 2/6 and 2.5/10 respectively. He serves as a FIDE Instructor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sachini Ranasinghe</span> Sri Lankan chess player (born 1994)

Sachini D. Ranasinghe, also known as S.D. Ranasinghe, is a Sri Lankan chess player who holds the title of Woman International Master. She is the first Sri Lankan player to get awarded the title of Woman International Master and only Sri Lankan player to win Asian zonal 3.2 chess championship and participate at the World chess Cup in 2012. She is a five-time winner of the Sri Lankan Women's Chess Championship. She is the strongest Sri Lankan women chess player in this era.

Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova is an Uzbek-born American chess player and Woman Grandmaster (2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Govhar Beydullayeva</span> Azerbaijani chess player (born 2003)

Govhar Beydullayeva is an Azerbaijani chess Grandmaster. She is the 2022 World Girls U-20 Champion as well as the World Girl's U18 Champion in 2021.

Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan is an Indian chess player. He earned the title of Grandmaster in 2015 and is the 41st Grandmaster from India. As of April 2022, he is ranked No. 5 in India and No. 73 in the world, with a FIDE rating of 2662.

Abeykoon Mudiyansalage Yupun Priyadarshana, known as Yupun Abeykoon, also referred to as Yupun Priyadarshana, is a Sri Lankan track and field athlete and a national record holder in men's 100m, men's 200m and in men's indoor 60m. He currently resides in Italy as he went on a scholarship to Italy in 2015. He is also attached to the Electronic and Mechanical Engineering Regiment of the Sri Lanka Army and represents Army Sports Club. He is currently regarded as the fastest Sri Lankan man as well as fastest South Asian man in men's 100m and 200m disciplines. On 3 July 2022, he became the first South Asian to break the 10-Second barrier for the men's 100 meters event at the Resisprint International competition, with a timing of 9.96 seconds, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.

Kotambewaththe Gedara Dilshi Maheesha Shyamali Kumarasingha also simply known as K. G. D. M. S. Kumarasinghe or Dilshi Kumarasinghe aka Shyamali Kumarasinghe is a Sri Lankan track and field athlete and a national record holder in women's 800m. She is currently coached by Susantha Fernando.

Ranindu Dilshan Liyanage also simply known as Ranindu Liyanage is a Sri Lankan chess player and current national champion. In July 2021, he became the first Sri Lankan man to participate at the FIDE Chess World Cup. He is currently coached by Uzbekistani chess grandmaster Alexei Barsov.

References

  1. "Thilakarathne, G M H". ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  2. "Why Maliyadeva stands tall ..." www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  3. Watch out for this Sri Lankan talent - Commonwealth Gold medalist under-16 Thilakarathne GMH , retrieved 2021-07-14
  4. Correspondent, Upananda Jayasundera Kandy Sports Special. "Harshana a talented chess player". Daily News. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  5. "Little Harshana Does Lanka Proud". asianmirror.lk. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  6. 1 2 "C'wealth chess gold for SL - Breaking News | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  7. "Schachturnier-Ergebnisserver Chess-results.com - World School Chess Championship 2018 - U15". chess-results.com. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  8. "Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - Commonwealth Chess Championships 2018 Under 16 OPEN". chess-results.com. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  9. "Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - 43rd Olympiad Batumi 2018 Open". chess-results.com. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  10. "Chess-Results Server Chess-results.com - Sri Lanka National Chess Championship - 2019". chess-results.com. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  11. "Harshana and Sayuni emerge chess champions". Daily News. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  12. "National champ Harshana wins Silver". Times Online - Daily Online Edition of The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  13. "FIDE Online Chess Olympiad 2020: National Chess Team to participate". CeylonToday. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  14. Nadeera, Dilshan. "Sri Lanka commence campaign today" . Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  15. "National chess team to compete at FIDE Online Chess Olympiad 2020". Daily News. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  16. 1 2 3 "Harshana Thilakaratne awarded International Master Title". CeylonToday. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  17. "Sri Lanka girls team emerge Asian zonal chess champions". Times Online - Daily Online Edition of The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  18. Weerasooriya, Sahan. "Harshana leads Under-18 age category" . Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  19. Weerasooriya, Sahan. "Harshana, Devindya win gold medals" . Retrieved 2021-09-28.