Sri Lanka's youngest WIM Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana needs your support to fulfil her dreams
Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana became the youngest Woman International Master of Sri Lanka last year. She was only 12 years 5 months old at that time. She also became the first Sri Lankan to win a Gold medal at a World Cadets tournament. Currently, she is Sri Lanka no.4 among active players of her country. Her dream is to become a Grandmaster and Women's World Champion. However, to achieve it she needs to travel a lot and play strong tournaments to increase rating and have norm chances. Devindya's mother Chandima Rathnayake appeals for a sponsor to fulfill her daughter's dreams. Check out the article to know about her achievement and how you can support her.
Sri Lanka's youngest WIM at the age of 12 years 5 months 21 days
Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana became Sri Lanka's youngest Woman International Master last year at the age of 12 years 5 months 21 days. In recent times, IM Alice Lee (USA) became the youngest WIM at the age of 11 years 10 months and 8 days. Back in 2023, Devindya became the first Sri Lankan player to win Gold at World Cadet Under-12 Girls 2023 held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. In February FIDE Rating list, she is Sri Lanka no.4 overall among active players, the youngest girl among Sri Lanka top ten. At the 45th Chess Olympiad Women, Devindya scored an impressive 8.5/9 and gained 112.8 Elo rating points. Her team, Sri Lanka won a Bronze medal in Category C. All her accolades point out to the fact that the kid is profusely talented.
Appeal
Devindya's mother, Chandima Rathnayake, appeals to get a sponsor for her daughter. Currently, Chess Federation of Sri Lanka provides tickets for her to participate in FIDE events as she is the reigning Sri Lanka National Women champion in both Classical and Blitz formats. Getting a sponsor for Devindya will help her to fulfill her dream of becoming a Grandmaster and Women's World Chess Champion.
Devindya's achievements
• Gold - World Cadets Under-12 Girls 2023
• Gold - Commonwealth Under-10 Girls 2022
• Gold - Asian Youth Under-10 Girls 2022
• Gold - Asian Schools Classical, Rapid and Blitz Under-10 Girls 2022
• Gold - Western Asian Under-20 Girls 2024. Earned WIM title, became youngest Sri Lanka and third female of the country to become a Woman International Master.
• Gold - Western Asia Youth Rapid and Blitz Under-12 Girls 2023
• Gold - FIDE Online World Cup Cadets and Youth Under-10 Girls 2021
• Gold - Western Asia Youth Online Under-10 Girls 2021
• Gold - Sri Lanka National Women Champion 2024. Youngest girl ever to clinch Sri Lanka National Women title.
• Silver - Asian Youth Under-12 Girls 2023
• Silver - Western Asian Junior Girls 2023. Devindya earned WIM-norm for this performance.
• Silver - Western Asia Youth Under-12 Girls 2023
• Bronze in Category C for Sri Lanka - 45th Chess Olympiad for Women
• Bronze - FIDE World Cup Cadets Under-12 Girls 2024
• Bronze - Asian Youth Online Under-10 Girls 2021
• Bronze - FIDE Youth Online Under-10 Girls Rapid 2021
• Bronze - FIDE Online Queen's Chess Festival Group D 2021
• Girls Player of the Year Award 2023 by Asian Chess Federation
CM FI Akila Kavinda shared on his academy, Akila Kavinda Chess Academy page the following: Every Chess trainer pushes their students to climb the ladder of success in Chess. But it is not an easy thing to do because it depends on many reasons. Not everyone chooses chess seriously. Most importantly, if a student enjoys Chess and improves human potential through Chess, that job is also more satisfying as a coach.
In Sri Lanka, passing the 2100 rating mark is considered a special task. Only very few did it in the last five years. As a coach, I am so happy to see that my three students did it successfully. My former student De Silva LMST worked with me until he reached 2150. My current students, Oshini and Vinuka, reach 2121 and 2117 in today's rating list. The speciality is all three started to work with me as unrated players.
LMST is an International Master now. He got an opportunity to study abroad through his achievements in Chess. Very proud to see where he stands now. Oshini is a WIM. She is the youngest WIM among all the current WIMs in the world. She proved to believe in our potential to reach the world level. CM Vinuka is the youngest player who crossed 2100 in SL. His growth is amazing, and I hope he will change many records in the future. All three have a huge passion and respect for Chess. They have huge ambitions and the ability to focus and work to their targets. I want to thank their parents for taking the risk and supporting them to achieve their goals.
I wish all of you to achieve more and more in the future. Your opponent is yourself. Only you can control your future. Focus more on your goals and work. My wish is to see you as GMs in future. Good luck!
How you can support
You can make your contribution to our platform helpchess.org and mention Devindya's name. The entire amount will be transferred to her. Alternatively, you can also write to Devindya's mother: chandimarathnayake19@gmail.com mentioning how you wish to support her.
