16 year-old Trinitian Chamika Perera - Youngest winner at Chess National

by S.M. Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy Sports. Corr.

CHESS: Enormously talented sixteen year Chamika Perera of Trinity College, Kandy, re-wrote chess history when he became the youngest to win the National Chess Championship organised by the Sri Lanka Chess Federation and supported by the Ministry of Sports and worked off at the University of Moratuwa.

Young Chamika with an international rating of 2109 E.L.O. kept to his early which he made as a 14 years old two years when he won the School's under 14 Chess Championship and also the Junior National Youth Chess Championship organised by the Sri Lanka Chess Federation and this double it self was an unique feat.

This is not all for Chamika Perera. He also became the first Trinity College schoolboy to win the National Championship and only the second Trinitian to do so. S. Abeysekera who won the National Championship in the 1980s did so after leaving school.

Chamika Perera also had the distinction of representing the country at several international chess events including the Chess Olympiad in Khanty, Russia last year and the World Youth Chess Championship in Vietnam also last year.

At the National Chess Championship put up a superlative display to win with 9 1/2 points from 13 games.

Little Chamika Perera started his sports carrier at Trinity College as swimmer and also did chess but opted to concentrate more on chess which he finds more absorbing and interesting.

There is chess running in the blood of the Perera family as his eldest brother Lakshitha Perera captained Trinity College at chess and also represented the country at swimming.

His second brother Malaka Perera represented Trinity College at both chess and swimming and is now studying Medicine at Adelaide University where he is continuing his sports.

In Chamika Perera, Sri Lanka has a bright prospect at chess and is bound to do even better in the future.