Buwanekaba Vidyalaya in Maharagama turned into a hive of concentration and quiet courage on August 16, 2026, as the Super Knights Junior Closed Chess Championship 2026 welcomed a hand-picked field of the country’s brightest juniors. Spread across six sections—Under-7, Under-9, and Under-11 in both Girls and Open categories—the championship offered these young players a genuine stage to test themselves against the very best of their age.
Each section was played as a five-round Swiss-system event at a classical time control, giving the competitors plenty of time to plan, calculate, and dream up their combinations. The tournament was directed by NI Yasiru Mihiranga, with FA W S N Chandrarathne serving as Chief Arbiter and NA L I Haththella as Deputy Chief Arbiter, keeping every board fair and every result clean across a long and demanding day.
The story of the championship was written in perfect scores. In section after section, a young champion swept all five games without so much as a stumble. Thishee Akhya Wijesinghe was flawless in the Under-7 Girls, capping her run with a confident final-round win to finish a clear half-point ahead of the chasing pack. Risini Malinsa did the very same in the Under-9 Girls, holding off two higher-rated rivals to complete a spotless 5/5 and take the crown outright.
The Under-7 Open produced the most dramatic finish of all. In a rare and thrilling logjam at the top, three boys—Sineth Methnada Kalehewaththa, P P Akith Sethmira Rupasingha, and Lakisan Subaskaran—all powered to a perfect five wins from five, never once tasting defeat. With their scores identical, the placings came down to the cruel beauty of tiebreaks, and it was Kalehewaththa who edged ahead to claim gold, with Rupasingha and Subaskaran left to settle for silver and bronze despite their own faultless runs.
The Under-9 Open told a similar tale of two unbeaten stars. Both Kumitha Deerada Subasith Jayawardhana and Methun Dinsanda Perera raced to 5/5, yet the two contenders never met over the board. When the dust settled, it was Jayawardhana who took the title on superior tiebreaks, with Perera an agonising whisker behind in second. Pasinda Udaneth completed the podium after a steady, mature performance.
In the Under-11 Open, top seed Dinuga Ayodhya Senevirathne lived up to his billing in style, brushing aside every challenger, including his closest rivals, to finish a full point clear on a commanding 5/5. Behind him, Vinudi Tenara Edirisooriya and Kaveesh Denuwan Gunawardena battled to 4 points apiece, with the tiebreaks separating them.
The Under-11 Girls delivered the day’s tensest head-to-head. Sayuni Omansa Porambage and S H Senudi Sehasna both arrived at the final round unbeaten, and their gold-medal clash ended in a hard-fought draw that left both on 4.5 points. It was Porambage who came out on top on a tiebreak, with Dewmi Mettananda bouncing back from a fourth-round setback to grab third—a fine reminder that in chess, a single game rarely tells the whole story.
Beyond the medals, the atmosphere was everything junior chess should be — nervous smiles before the rounds, proud parents lining the walls, and the unmistakable spark of children falling in love with the game. A closed championship like this is a special thing, giving talented youngsters the chance to measure themselves against equals and grow with every move.
Warmest congratulations to every champion, every medallist, and every young player who took a seat and gave their all. To the winners, your focus and fighting spirit shone through. To those who fell just short, keep believing your moment is coming. A heartfelt thank you to the organizers, the arbiters and officials, and the families whose support made this memorable day possible.
