WFM Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana Secures Bronze Medal at Under 12 Girls FIDE World Cup
The inaugural FIDE World Cup for U8, U10, and U12 categories took place from June 23 to July 2, 2024, in Batumi, Georgia. Dedicated to FIDE’s centenary, this event added an extra layer of significance to the World Cadet Cup. A total of 288 participants from 37 countries competed in the tournament. Each age group was divided into two groups, each consisting of 24 players, and played a seven-round Swiss system. Following this, players with the same ranking played a match to determine the final standings. The time control was set at 90 minutes for the entire game plus a 30-second increment from move one.
Sri Lanka was represented by five players: Venukanan Nayanakheshan in the Under 08 Open category, Thehas Rithmitha Kiringoda in the Under 10 Open category, Sanuk Nanayakkara in the Under 12 Open category, O R Hasini Anuththara Ranasinghe in the Under 08 Girls category, and WFM Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana in the Under 12 Girls category.
In the first stage, Venukanan Nayanakheshan competed in group B of the Under 08 Open category, scoring 2.5/7 points. Thehas Rithmitha Kiringoda, in group B of the Under 10 Open category, also scored 2.5/7 points. Sanuk Nanayakkara, playing in group A of the Under 12 category, scored 3.5/7 points. O R Hasini Anuththara Ranasinghe, competing in group A of the Under 08 Girls category, scored 4/7 points. WFM Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana, in group B of the Under 12 Girls category, scored an impressive 6/7 points. She led the tournament until the 5th round but, unfortunately, lost to Bordoloi Pratitee of India in the 6th round, finishing second in her group after seven rounds.
All the players advanced to the second stage, where they competed against players with the same ranking from the other group.
In the second stage, Venukanan Nayanakheshan scored 0.5/2 points, ranking 40th in the final standings of the Under 08 Open category. Thehas Rithmitha Kiringoda also scored 0.5/2 points, ranking 42nd in the Under 10 Open category. Sanuk Nanayakkara scored 1.5/2 points, finishing 27th in the Under 12 category. O R Hasini Anuththara Ranasinghe scored 0.5/2 points, ranking 18th in the Under 08 Girls category. WFM Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana won both her second-stage games, securing the bronze medal in the Under 12 Girls category.
Congratulations to all the players. We wish you all the best in your future chess endeavors!
