Photograph by : Sent by T G M Peiris
Colombo Major Champion 2020 Raguparan Ilampoornan
10 April 2020
Name - Raguparan Ilampoornan
FIDE - 9917241
Rating – 1989
Raguparan Ilampoornan is one of the talented kids who was born in 2002 and started chess at the age of 4 years. He is a student at S. Thomas’ College –Mt. Lavinia who is regarded as a potential chess player in Sri Lanka. The maiden introduction to the game had been given by one of his neighbors after which he competed in the first tournament at the age of six.
Then, he was coached by Mr.Indunil Patabandige (2010-2012) and Mr. Prasanna Kurukulasooriya (2016-2017) while getting exposure from Mr. Erosh Jayasinghe, Mr.Naditha Amarakoon at school. Currently, he’s under my guidance and Illampoornan is one of the best students that S. Thomas’ college has produced. He’s not only good at chess but also keens on his studies and whenever someone is seeking help he’s not the one to hesitate.
While we were working together I noticed that he’s really showing interest in logical thinking and calculations where we worked a lot during practice sessions. Within the chess field, he’s not everyone’s favorite, I guess this is due to the language barriers. But once you got to know him you’ll realize how polite and calm this kid is. So far he has achieved many reputations under his name and represented Sri Lanka on many occasions.
Represented Sri Lanka in the following international events
- Asian Youth Chess Championship 2019 - Waskaduwa, Sri Lanka
- Commonwealth (under 16) Chess Championship 2017 – New Delhi, India
- World Youth (under 16) Chess Olympiad- 2017 – Ahmedabad, India
- 2nd West Asian Youth Championship 2017- Rapid 2nd Runner up (Under 16)
- Asian Youth Blitz Chess Championships 2012- Sri Lanka
- 6th Asian Schools Chess Championship 2010
National Achievements:
- Champion - Sri Lanka (Majors) Colombo Division 2020
- 9th Place – Sri Lanka National A Chess Championship 2019
- 5th Place - Sri Lanka National B Chess Championship 2019
- 1st Runner up - Junior National Chess Championship 2017
- National Youth Chess Championships:
- Champion 2017 (Under 16)
- Champion 2018 (Under 17)
- 1st Runner up 2019 (Under 17)
- 1st Runner up - National Youth Rapid Chess Championship 2019 (Under 18)
A recent game from Ilampoornan...
[Event "Majors 2020"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.02.02"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Sandaruwan, A M T P."]
[Black "Ilampoornan, Raguparan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E90"]
[WhiteElo "1834"]
[BlackElo "1967"]
[PlyCount "30"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2020.03.17"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. d5 g6 4. c4 d6 5. Nc3 Bg7 {here Black delayed early 3...
..e6 break as much as possible just to confuse the opponent} 6. e4 O-O 7. Bg5
$6 (7. Be2 e6 8. O-O exd5 9. cxd5 Re8 {would have been created chances for
both players, but White went for 7.Bg5 kind of an old variation}) 7... e6 {
Diagram [#] Black decided to play 7...e6 considering few facts. His opponent's
king is still on the center and in Benoni, White develops his king-side pieces
and castle early, instead White played 7.Bg5 here} 8. dxe6 {White is helping
Black to complete his development, d6 square looks weak and you might lose d6
pawn in some cases. But this is how Benoni structure works; you get lot of
compensations for d6 pawn} (8. Nd2 h6 9. Bh4 a6 10. Be2 exd5 11. Nxd5 Nc6 $11)
8... Bxe6 9. Nb5 $2 {Now this is the first serious mistake that White made. He
should have fully developed before attacking the d6 pawn} (9. Be2 h6 10. Bf4
Qb6 $11 {will help White to play the position, but 9.Nb5 clearly favors Black})
9... Nc6 10. Qxd6 $2 Nxe4 $6 {This was an inaccuracy from Black side, Instead}
(10... Qb6 $1 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. e5 Bg7 13. Be2 Rfd8 14. Qc7 Qa6 {White is in a
great danger}) 11. Bxd8 $2 (11. Qxd8 {Best try for White, but still} Nxd8 12.
Bd3 Nxg5 13. Nxg5 Bxb2 {and Black is winning}) 11... Nxd6 12. Nxd6 Raxd8 {and
White's position is hopeless} 13. O-O-O {any move at this point is losing for
White} (13. Nxb7 Nb4 14. Nxd8 Rxd8 15. Rc1 Bxb2 16. Rb1 Nc2+ 17. Ke2 Bxc4#)
13... Bh6+ 14. Kc2 Bf4 15. Be2 Bxd6 0-1
by TGM Peiris (FIDE Instructor)
About the author
Globalchess.lk is thankful to Mr.TGM Peiris (Gayan) for writing an article about one of his students on our request. Gayan is one of the leading coaches in Sri Lanka as well as a top-level active chess player. Becoming the National Rapid Champion of Sri Lanka in 2019 is one of his achievements. We wish him success in his chess career as a coach as well as a chess player. He is the son of former National Champion Mr.TDR Peiris and brother of FIDE Master TSS Peiris.
