Sri Lanka National Senior chess Championship 2026: Ekanayake, Fernando, and Chandrasiri Rule an Epic Weekend of Chess
Colombo, April 26–27, 2026 — The Police Families’ Welfare Association on Joseph Fraser Road in Colombo 05 buzzed with the quiet intensity of focused minds and ticking clocks this weekend, as Sri Lanka’s top senior players gathered to contest the Sri Lanka National Senior Chess Championship 2026 — an ambitious triple-format event encompassing Standard, Rapid, and Blitz chess, all organised under the banner of the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka.
With three titles up for grabs and seasoned competitors hungry for glory, the tournament proved to be one of the most exciting senior chess events the country has witnessed in recent memory.
Standard Championship: Ekanayake’s Perfect Storm
The Standard event — played over six rounds using the Swiss System — set the tone for the weekend in the most dramatic way possible. A M B Ekanayake, entering with a rating of 1797 as the clear favourite, did not disappoint. Round after round, Ekanayake dispatched his opponents with clinical precision, building an unstoppable momentum that culminated in a perfect 6 points from 6 games — a flawless, unblemished performance.
Chasing hard in second place was AFM Gamini Karunarathne, who produced a gutsy display throughout the event. Despite sharing points in a couple of hard-fought rounds, Karunarathne held his nerve admirably to finish on 4.5 points, securing the silver medal and reaffirming his reputation as one of the senior circuit’s most consistent performers.
Third place went to Ruwan Nandika, who, despite a tough draw against Ekanayake in the final round that cost him a higher finish, showed commendable fighting spirit all week to end on 4 points and step onto the podium.
Blitz Championship: Chandrasiri’s Perfect Seven
If Ekanayake’s Standard performance was impressive, P K Chandrasiri’s run in the Blitz Championship on April 26 was nothing short of extraordinary. Playing at a blistering pace of three minutes per game with a two-second increment, Chandrasiri demolished the field with a perfect score of 7 out of 7 — winning every single game he played. In Blitz chess, where a single lapse can be fatal, going seven-for-seven is a rare and special achievement.
A M B Ekanayake, who had already been dominant in the Standard event, showed his versatility by finishing second in the Blitz as well, scoring 6 points to take the silver. ACM Pra Fernando, who would go on to win the Rapid the very next day, rounded off the Blitz podium with 5 points and the bronze medal — a sign of things to come.
Rapid Championship: Fernando Steps Into the Spotlight
The final format on April 27 — seven rounds of Rapid chess at 15 minutes per player with a 10-second increment — produced a fitting climax to the weekend. After watching others claim the earlier titles, ACM Pra Fernando seized his moment, navigating the seven-round Swiss system with sharp, confident chess to finish on top with 5.5 points.
Hot on Fernando’s heels were two players locked on 5 points each: A M B Ekanayake, who continued to prove himself the weekend’s most well-rounded competitor, and Jagath Samarasuriya, who put together a spirited seven-round campaign to claim the Rapid bronze. The tiebreak separating second from third reflected just how fierce the competition was at the summit.
Tournament Organisation
The entire three-event championship was expertly managed under the stewardship of Tournament Director IA G. Luxman Wijesuriya and Chief Arbiter IA H N Chathuranga Gunasena, both of whom ensured the event ran smoothly across formats. With international rating calculations applied to both the Rapid and Blitz events, results from this championship will have real FIDE rating implications for the participants — adding another layer of motivation to every move played.
A Weekend to Remember
What made this championship particularly special was the sheer diversity of champions it produced. No single player swept all three titles — though Ekanayake came closest with wins in Standard and a runner-up finish in both Rapid and Blitz — making this a genuinely open and competitive event. The senior chess community in Sri Lanka is clearly in good health, with experienced players pushing each other to their very best.
Warm congratulations go out to all three champions — A M B Ekanayake, ACM Pra Fernando, and P K Chandrasiri — as well as to every player who competed with dedication and sportsmanship over the weekend. A special word of appreciation to the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka for staging such a well-organised, multi-format national championship, and to the Police Families’ Welfare Association for hosting the event.
Here’s to many more battles across the board! ♟️
