Swapnil Dhopade dominates 7th Negombo International Chess Festival 2023
GM Swapnil Dhopade scored an unbeaten 9.5/10 to win 7th Negombo International Chess Festival Rating Open 2023. He finished a full point ahead of the field. S D Nadev Insara (SRI) scored 8.5/10 to secure second place. R K T Dissanayake (SRI) edged past nine other players to be placed third scoring 8/10. The total prize fund of the tournament was about LKR 900000. The top three prizes in the Classical event were LKR 100000, 80000 and 40000 along with a trophy and medal each. Sri Lanka no.2 IM L M S T De Silva scored 8.5/9 to win the Blitz event. The no.1 of Sri Lanka, FM Ranindu Dilshan Liyanage also scored 8.5/9 to share first place. CM A A C B Amarasinghe (SRI) finished third 7.5/9. The top three prizes in Blitz were LKR 30000, 20000 and 15000 along with a trophy and medal each.This is Swapnil's first individual tournament triumph since June 2017. Photos: Kasun Irantha/Gampaha District Chess Association
Swapnil's first individual tournament triumph in over six years
"The 7th Negombo International Chess Festival 2023 was held from 26th to 30th of August at the Wet Water Resort, Ekala, Sri Lanka. This prestigious event, a testament to the enduring spirit of chess, was brought to life through the collaborative efforts of the Gampaha District Chess Association, the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka, and FIDE. This featured two remarkable championships: the standard event and the blitz championship. With nearly LKR 900000 in prizes, along with certificates, medals, and trophies." - Kasun Irantha, Secretary, Gampaha District Chess Association.
Dissanayake - Swapnil, Round 7
Dissanayake R K T (SRI, 1904) attempted to destabilize Black's center and take advantage of the king stranded at the middle of the board. 18.d5? GM Swapnil Dhopade (2479) found the correct resource 18...Ne5! 19.Qe2 Black opted for the humane exd5 20.Nxd5 Nxd5 21.Bxd5 Bd3 22.Qe1 Bxf1 23.Kxf1 0-0-0 24.Ba5 b6 25.f4 Nd3 and Black won the game.
Despite a fantastic performance and finishing a full point ahead of others, a draw in the last round which was quite understandable as it was enough for him to win the tournament. The current Elo rating system is such, one draw against 520 rating points lower than him, cost 3.8 Elo rating points.
Thanks to Kasun Irantha, Secretary, Gampaha District Chess Association for sharing the photos and information about the tournament.
A total of 534 players including a GM took part from India, Sri Lanka and Zambia in this five-day ten-round Swiss league Rating tournament which was organized by Gampaha District Chess Association at Wet Water Resort in Ekala, Sri Lanka from 26th to 30th August 2023. The time control for the tournament was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.
Final standings in Classical
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | ||
| 1 | 1 | GM | Swapnil, S. Dhopade | IND | 2479 | 9,5 | 0 | 67,5 | 72,5 | 9 | 54,5 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Insara, S D Nadev | U15 | SRI | 1759 | 8,5 | 0 | 66 | 69,5 | 7 | 48 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Dissanayake, R K T | SRI | 1904 | 8 | 0 | 67 | 71 | 8 | 49 | ||||
| 4 | 9 | CM | Wijekoon, Chandana | SRI | 1662 | 8 | 0 | 66,5 | 70,5 | 7 | 49,5 | |||
| 5 | 4 | FM | Alahakoon, Isuru | SRI | 1827 | 8 | 0 | 66 | 72 | 8 | 48 | |||
| 6 | 10 | AFM | Janukshan, B | U15 | SRI | 1658 | 8 | 0 | 65 | 70,5 | 7 | 48 | ||
| 7 | 17 | Gunawardhana, Devindya Oshini | F12 | w | SRI | 1601 | 8 | 0 | 64,5 | 67,5 | 7 | 47 | ||
| 8 | 31 | Ovitigala, Chenitha Mithvidu | U12 | SRI | 1426 | 8 | 0 | 62 | 66,5 | 7 | 47 | |||
| 9 | 12 | Kulathilake, S M M P | U15 | SRI | 1648 | 8 | 0 | 61,5 | 65 | 6 | 45,5 | |||
| 10 | 40 | Hettiarachchi, D W K | U15 | SRI | 1365 | 8 | 0 | 59,5 | 64 | 7 | 44 |
A total of 301 players including an IM took part from Sri Lanka and Zambia in the one-day Swiss League Blitz Rating tournament on 27th August 2023. The time contol was 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment from move no.1.
Final standings in Blitz
| Rk. | SNo | Name | sex | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | ||
| 1 | 1 | IM | De Silva, L M S T | SRI | 2395 | 8,5 | 0,5 | 55,5 | 60,5 | 8 | 43,5 | ||
| 2 | 2 | FM | Liyanage, Ranindu Dilshan | SRI | 2359 | 8,5 | 0,5 | 53 | 57 | 8 | 43,5 | ||
| 3 | 14 | CM | Amarasinghe, A A C B | SRI | 1595 | 7,5 | 0 | 54 | 58 | 7 | 40,5 | ||
| 4 | 10 | Weerasinghe, C C | SRI | 1731 | 7,5 | 0 | 50 | 54,5 | 7 | 39,5 | |||
| 5 | 28 | Kulathilake, S M M P | SRI | 1429 | 7,5 | 0 | 50 | 54 | 7 | 38,5 | |||
| 6 | 12 | Hettiarachchi, C U | SRI | 1685 | 7,5 | 0 | 47,5 | 51,5 | 7 | 39,5 | |||
| 7 | 3 | Nabil Nazar, Mohamed | SRI | 1868 | 7,5 | 0 | 46 | 49,5 | 7 | 38 | |||
| 8 | 9 | Gunawardhana, Devindya Oshini | w | SRI | 1738 | 7 | 0 | 53 | 57 | 7 | 40 | ||
| 9 | 6 | FM | Alahakoon, Isuru | SRI | 1796 | 7 | 0 | 52 | 55 | 6 | 39,5 | ||
| 10 | 21 | Dandeniya, D D L N | SRI | 1480 | 7 | 0 | 48 | 52 | 6 | 38,5 |
Links
Gampaha District Chess Association
