Game Analysis: Dishal Weerasekara-Vs-De Silva L M S T
Analysis of the most recent Upset landed by our Hero and his best Overall classical win
Background
This game was played by Dishal Weerasekara on the 3rd of April 2023 when he was just 13 years old and rated 1652. This was the preliminary round of the 2023 Nationals and L M S T De Silva (Susal De Silva), the highest-rated player in the event, was clearly in the running for first place. But with this massive upset against the 2450-rated IM, he brought the score gap between him and Susal to only half a point. Although Dishal finished the tournament by taking second place, this was an unforgettable moment for all the Sri Lankan chess fans rooting for him.
Tournament Details
Sri Lanka National Chess Championship 2023
Tournament Director: IA Wijesuriya G Laxman
Chief Arbiter: IA Wijesuriya G Laxman
Deputy Chief Arbiter: Mudalige, Lalantha Viraj
Arbiter: Udayashantha, T M Dilan
Time Control: 90 minutes with an increment of 30 seconds per move
Location: Sports Ministry Pavillion, Torrington Square, Colombo 7
Tournament type: Round robin
The Game
Final Thoughts...
Weerasekara Fan Club
I created a fan club for Dishal not just because he is the youngest ever Sri Lankan to get to a classical rating of 2000, but also because of his inspirational tournament play in the National Cycle. It didn't look to be going well for him in the beginning. He barely got selected to the National Premier divisions from the Majors, and no one would have ever thought he would finish the cycle with such a monumental result. It's not just because of the rating, it's because of the fighting spirit he showed throughout the whole cycle. Some haters would even go as far as to say that he is just a trickster after seeing his games in the Premier divisions, but those games clearly showed how good of a fighter Weerasekara is despite being so young. For the non-Sri Lankan players reading this, it may not look like much, but to grow up in an environment where you only have less than 10 players who have passed the rating barrier of 2000 and perform at such a high level in the most important tournament of Sri Lanka was really a special and inspirational thing to witness...
External Links
FIDE: https://ratings.fide.com/profile/9997431
ChessBase Players: https://players.chessbase.com/en/player/Weerasekara_Dishal%20Nimsara/570523
News: https://archives1.dailynews.lk/2018/11/14/local/168435/disnal-chess-star-making
Fan Club: https://lichess.org/team/weerasekara-fan-club