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Asoka genius Gimhan shines in chess
8 February 2021
by Harsha Amarasinghe
Kavishka Gimshan of Asoka College, Colombo 10, who has been making waves in the youth chess arena for last few years, sealed a significant victory recently clinching the CFSL Online Youth Rapid Chess Championship 2021 – Under 14 convincingly by scoring a total 8.5 points out of possible 9 games. He scored 8 out of 8 points in the first 8 rounds by scoring wins against Pansilu Karunarathne, Senith Gunarathne, Rashmitha Mettanmanda, Yemith Gunaratne, Oneli Withanawasam, CM IPTS Gunawardena, SMMP Kulathilake, and WCM Sanindula Dahamdi and got a draw in the final round to win the Championship.
In school, Gimshan coached by BAMKD Beligaswatta has made stunning progress in the last few years in which he has performed brilliantly while Asoka College has also given him great support through the Principal Mr. Y. Yasarathne, Mrs. Hemamali Udawatta, Sports Coordinator A.N.N. Herath, and Master in Charge Mr. Nuwan Senarath, and all his private coaches.
[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.22"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Laksiri A A Kavishka Gimshan"]
[Black "Karunarathne Banura Pansilu"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "718"]
[BlackElo "1166"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nc6 3. Nf3 Bf5 4. c3 Nf6 5. e3 e6 6. Bd3 Bg6 7. Ne5 Nxe5 8.
Bxe5 Bd6 9. f4 a6 10. O-O Be7 11. f5 exf5 12. Bxf5 Bxf5 13. Rxf5 c6 14. Nd2 Qd7
15. Qc2 b5 16. e4 dxe4 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 18. Qxe4 f6 19. Bg3 Kf8 20. Raf1 Re8 21.
Qd3 Bd6 22. Bxd6+ Qxd6 23. Rc5 Kg8 24. Qf3 Kf7 25. Rxc6 Qd7 26. Rxa6 Rb8 27.
Re1 b4 28. d5 bxc3 29. bxc3 Qb7 30. Rae6 Qa7+ 31. Kh1 Rhe8 32. Qh5+ g6 33.
Qxh7+ Kf8 34. Rxf6+ Qf7 35. Qxf7# 1-0
[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.22"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gunarathne Senith Thenula"]
[Black "Laksiri A A Kavishka Gimshan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "365"]
[BlackElo "718"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 h6 5. O-O d6 6. h3 Nf6 7. Nbd2 Be6 8. Bb3
d5 9. Re1 d4 10. c3 dxc3 11. bxc3 Qxd3 12. Nc4 Bxc4 13. Qxd3 Bxd3 14. Rd1 Bxe4
15. Nd2 O-O 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. Re1 Nxf2 18. Kf1 Nd3 19. Bd2 Nxe1 20. Rxe1 Rad8
21. Bc1 Na5 22. Bc2 f5 23. Rxe5 b6 24. g3 Rde8 25. Rd5 c6 26. Rd7 Re7 27. Rd2
f4 28. Kg2 f3+ 29. Kh2 f2 30. Bd3 f1=Q 31. Bxf1 Rxf1 32. Bb2 Rf2+ 33. Rxf2 Bxf2
34. Bc1 Re2 35. Bf4 Be3+ 36. Kh1 Bxf4 37. Kg1 Bxg3 38. Kf1 Rd2 39. Kg1 Kf7 40.
Kf1 Kf6 41. Kg1 Kf5 42. Kf1 Kf4 43. Kg1 Kf3 44. Kf1 Rd1# 0-1
[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.23"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Laksiri A A Kavishka Gimshan"]
[Black "Mettananda W M D Rashmitha"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "718"]
[BlackElo "1356"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. Nf3 Bf5 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 Bg6 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bg3 c5 8. Qe2
c4 9. Bxg6 fxg6 10. Ne5 Nc6 11. f4 O-O 12. Nd2 Bxe5 13. fxe5 Ne4 14. Nxe4 dxe4
15. Qxc4 Rf6 16. exf6 Qxf6 17. Rf1 Qe7 18. O-O-O Rc8 19. d5 b5 20. Qxe4 Nd8 21.
d6 Qd7 22. Bh4 Nf7 23. Rxf7 Kxf7 24. Rf1+ Kg8 25. Qf4 a6 26. Be7 h6 27. Qf7+
Kh7 28. Rf4 Qa7 29. Qxe6 Qb6 30. Rg4 Rg8 31. Qxg6+ Kh8 32. Rg3 b4 33. Bf6 gxf6
34. Qxh6# 1-0
[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.23"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Rathnayaka Minaga Yethmin"]
[Black "Laksiri A A Kavishka Gimshan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A46"]
[WhiteElo "1481"]
[BlackElo "718"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 b6 5. e3 Be7 6. Bd3 Bb7 7. O-O O-O 8. b3
Nbd7 9. Bb2 c5 10. Re1 Ne4 11. Qc2 f5 12. Red1 Ndf6 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. Bxe4 fxe4
15. Ng5 Ng4 16. Nxe6 Qb8 17. Nf4 g5 18. h3 gxf4 19. hxg4 f3 20. g3 dxc4 21.
bxc4 Qe8 22. Nd5 Bxd5 23. Rxd5 Qg6 24. Qc3 Bf6 25. Qd2 Qxg4 26. Rd7 Qh3 27.
Qd5+ Kh8 28. Bxf6+ Rxf6 29. Rd8+ Rxd8 30. Qxd8+ Kg7 31. Qe7+ Rf7 32. Qe5+ Rf6
33. Qe7+ Kg8 34. Qe8+ Rf8 35. Qe6+ Qxe6 36. Kh2 Qh6+ 37. Kg1 Qh3 38. Rd1 Qg2#
0-1
[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.23"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Laksiri A A Kavishka Gimshan"]
[Black "Vithanawasam Oneli"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "718"]
[BlackElo "1752"]
[PlyCount "167"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. Nf3 e6 4. e3 Bd6 5. Bg3 a6 6. Nbd2 c5 7. c3 O-O 8. Bd3
Qe7 9. Bxd6 Qxd6 10. Ne5 Nbd7 11. Ndf3 b6 12. O-O Bb7 13. Qe2 Ne4 14. Nxd7 Qxd7
15. Rfd1 Qe7 16. Ne5 f6 17. Nf3 Kh8 18. Nd2 e5 19. Nxe4 dxe4 20. Bc2 cxd4 21.
exd4 exd4 22. Rxd4 Rad8 23. Rb4 e3 24. fxe3 Rfe8 25. Rxb6 Qc7 26. Rb4 Qc6 27.
e4 a5 28. Rd4 Qb6 29. Rad1 Rxd4 30. cxd4 Ba6 31. Bd3 Bxd3 32. Rxd3 Qb7 33. d5
Qe7 34. d6 Qa7+ 35. Kf1 Qc5 36. d7 Rd8 37. Qd2 Qb5 38. Kg1 Qb6+ 39. Kh1 Qb7 40.
Rd4 Qc7 41. h3 h6 42. b3 Kg8 43. a3 Kf7 44. Rd5 Ke7 45. Rxa5 Rxd7 46. Rd5 Rxd5
47. exd5 Qb7 48. d6+ Kd7 49. b4 Qa6 50. Kg1 Qa7+ 51. Kf1 Qxa3 52. Kf2 Qa7+ 53.
Kg3 Qa3+ 54. Kg4 Qa6 55. Qd4 Qe2+ 56. Kg3 Qe1+ 57. Kh2 Qe5+ 58. Qxe5 fxe5 59.
Kg3 Kxd6 60. Kf3 Kd5 61. Ke3 h5 62. h4 g6 63. g3 e4 64. b5 Ke5 65. b6 Kd6 66.
Kxe4 Kc6 67. Ke5 Kxb6 68. Kf6 Kc7 69. Kxg6 Kd8 70. Kxh5 Ke8 71. Kg6 Kf8 72. Kh7
Kf7 73. g4 Kf6 74. g5+ Kf5 75. g6 Kg4 76. g7 Kxh4 77. g8=Q Kh3 78. Qg6 Kh4 79.
Kg7 Kh3 80. Kf6 Kh2 81. Kf5 Kh3 82. Kf4 Kh2 83. Kf3 Kh1 84. Qg2# 1-0
[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.23"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gunawardena I M T S"]
[Black "Laksiri A A Kavishka Gimshan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C23"]
[WhiteElo "1286"]
[BlackElo "718"]
[PlyCount "106"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Qg4 Qf6 5. Nd5 Qxf2+ 6. Kd1 g6 7. c3 d6 8.
Qg5 f6 9. Qg3 Qxg3 10. hxg3 Bb6 11. Nf3 Na5 12. Bb5+ c6 13. Ba4 Bd7 14. Nxb6
axb6 15. d4 Nc4 16. Bc2 b5 17. b3 Nb6 18. g4 Bxg4 19. c4 bxc4 20. dxe5 dxe5 21.
bxc4 Nxc4 22. Bb3 Na5 23. Bc2 Rd8+ 24. Ke1 Ne7 25. Ba3 Nc4 26. Bc5 b6 27. Bb4
c5 28. Bc3 Kf8 29. Rf1 Kg7 30. Nh2 Be6 31. Bb3 Rd6 32. Nf3 Ne3 33. Ke2 Nxf1 34.
Rxf1 Bxb3 35. axb3 Nc6 36. Bb2 Ra8 37. Ke3 Nd4 38. Nxd4 cxd4+ 39. Kd3 Ra2 40.
Ba1 Rc6 41. g3 Rcc2 42. Rd1 Rc8 43. Rf1 Rca8 44. Bxd4 Rd8 45. Kc3 exd4+ 46. Kd3
Rb2 47. Kc4 d3 48. Kc3 Rc2+ 49. Kb4 d2 50. Rd1 Rc1 51. Rxc1 dxc1=Q 52. e5 Qc5+
53. Ka4 Ra8# 0-1
[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.24"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Laksiri A A Kavishka Gimshan"]
[Black "Kulathilake S M M P"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "718"]
[BlackElo "1965"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 c5 3. e3 Nc6 4. c3 e6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Nbd2 Bd6 7. Bg3 O-O 8. Bd3
h6 9. O-O Bxg3 10. hxg3 cxd4 11. exd4 Qc7 12. Re1 Bd7 13. Nb3 b6 14. a4 Rfe8
15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Nh7 17. Qc2 Nf8 18. Nd4 Red8 19. Re3 Bc6 20. Rae1 Nd7 21.
g4 Nc5 22. Nxc6 Qxc6 23. Bb5 Qc7 24. b4 a6 25. Bf1 Nd7 26. c4 dxc4 27. Qxc4
Qxc4 28. Bxc4 Rdc8 29. Bb3 a5 30. Rd1 Nf8 31. b5 Rab8 32. f4 Nd7 33. Rxd7 Rc1+
34. Kf2 1-0
[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.24"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Laksiri A A Kavishka Gimshan"]
[Black "Sanudula K M Dahamdi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A46"]
[WhiteElo "718"]
[BlackElo "1447"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 g6 4. Nc3 d5 5. e3 Bg7 6. Be2 O-O 7. Ne5 b6 8. h4
Bb7 9. h5 Nbd7 10. hxg6 fxg6 11. Qd3 c5 12. O-O-O a6 13. Bh6 Ne4 14. Nxe4 dxe4
15. Qb3 Bd5 16. c4 Bb7 17. Bg4 Nxe5 18. dxe5 Qe7 19. Qxb6 Bc8 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21.
f4 a5 22. Qc6 Rb8 23. Qxe4 Bb7 24. Qc2 Bxg2 25. Qxg2 a4 26. Qh2 Kg8 27. Qc2
Rfe8 28. Rd6 Qb7 29. Rh2 Qb4 30. Qc3 Qb7 31. Bxe6+ Rxe6 32. Rxe6 Qf3 33. Rd6
Qg4 34. Rd1 Qf5 35. Rdh1 Rb7 36. Rd1 Qe4 37. Rhd2 Rb4 38. b3 axb3 39. axb3 Rb6
40. Qd3 Qf3 41. Qd8+ Kg7 42. Qxb6 Qxe3 43. Qf6+ 1-0
[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.24"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Wickramaarachchi Nayanaka Insara"]
[Black "Laksiri A A Kavishka Gimshan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "1844"]
[BlackElo "718"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 b6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Be7 7. e3 O-O 8. Bd3
Bb7 9. O-O h6 10. Bf4 Nh5 11. Bg3 Nxg3 12. hxg3 Nd7 13. Rc1 c5 14. dxc5 bxc5
15. b3 Nf6 16. Na4 Rc8 17. Bf5 Rc7 18. Qd3 Bc8 19. Bxc8 Qxc8 20. Rc2 c4 21.
bxc4 dxc4 22. Qe2 Qa6 23. Nc3 Rfc8 24. Nd4 Bb4 25. Rfc1 Bxc3 26. Rxc3 Nd5 27.
R3c2 Nb4 28. Rd2 c3 29. Rdc2 Qa4 30. Nb5 Nxc2 31. Nxc7 Nd4 32. exd4 Rxc7 33.
Qe5 Qc6 34. d5 Qc5 35. Qe8+ Qf8 36. Qe5 Qc5 37. Qe8+ Qf8 38. Qe3 Qc5 39. Qe8+
1/2-1/2
Harsha has been serving as a Sports Journalist from 2011. Having started off at The Nation in 2011, he moved to Ceylon Today in 2014 before joining Daily Mirror in 2017. He went on to win the Sports Journalist of the Year Award (Merit) at Journalism Excellence in 2018, and played chess at inter-school level. After completing a Special Degree in Translation Studies, he currently works as a Lecturer in Translation Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Languages in Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka having previously served as a Visiting Lecturer in English at Open University of Sri Lanka, University of Ruhuna and Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.
