Pramodya Sri Lanka's first women's FIDE Master

Pramodya Ruchirani Senanayake of Musaeus College(16 years) was made a Women's FIDE Master (WFM) after her performances at the recent Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy where she gained six points from nine rounds.

Pramodya is the first Sri Lankan woman to obtain this award from FIDE, who started her career at the age of eight years being introduced to the sport by her mother Hemali who is attached to the Medical College.

She came into national recognition at the age of 12 when she was the Under-14 national champion. She represented Sri Lanka at the World Youth Championships in Greece the same year and was also in the team for the 36th Olympiad in Spain.

Pramodya was then the Under-15 national champion in 2005 and competed at the Asian Junior Championships in Singapore where she won a bronze medal.

She is coached by Derrick Perera, a former President of the Sri Lanka Chess Federation (SLCF) and her gratitude goes out to her Principal, Mrs N. K. Pilapitiya. Her after, Jayantha, who is a mechanical engineer, too extends his full support.

(L.G.)