Kushagra Mohan wins a double at 10th Dhamso International Chess Festival 2023
IM Kushagra Mohan scored an unbeaten 9/10 and 8.5/9 to win 10th Dhamso International Chess Festival Classical and Blitz Rating Open 2023. He finished a half point ahead of the field in both. Senevirathne S D B K (SRI), GM Azer Mirzoev (AZE) and IM Himal Gusain scored 8.5/10 each in Classical. They shared second place. In the Blitz event, Samaranayake K P R N (SRI), Piyumantha M Thisal Manjith (SRI) and IM Himal Gusain scored 8/10 each in Blitz. They all shared second place. The total cash prize fund of the tournament was LKR 1.4 Million. The top three prizes in the Classical event were LKR 150000 + trophy, 100000 and 70000 along with a medal each respectively. For Blitz, the top three prizes were LKR 40000 + trophy, 30000 and 20000 along with a medal each respectively. Kushagra's double triumph earned him a combined total of ₹50198 approx. This was Kushagra's third and fourth triumph of the year. All photos in this article are from Dhamso Chess fb page
Kushagra clinches DICF Player of the Year, Himal shares second place in both Classical and Blitz
IM Kushagra Mohan had a sole lead 8.5/9 heading into the final round. He drew against Senevirathne S D B K (SRI) to win the tournament and finish a half point ahead of the field. In the Blitz event, Kushagra defeated the sole leader Piyumantha M Thisal Manjith (SRI) who was at 8/8, to become the champion. Kushagra was also crowned DICF Player of the Year.
A total of 663 players including a GM and two IMs took part from Azerbaijan, India and Sri Lanka in this five-day ten-round Swiss league Rating tournament which was organized by Dharmasoka College Old Boys' Chess Association at Lavanga Resort & Spa in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka from 26th to 30th May 2023. The time control for the tournament was 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment. A total of 359 players including two IMs took part from India and Sri Lanka in the one-day Swiss League Blitz Rating tournament on 27th May 2023. The time contol was 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment from move no.1.
Final standings in Classical
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | ||
| 1 | 3 | IM | Kushagra, Mohan | IND | 2400 | 9 | 0 | 66 | 69 | 60,50 | 53 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Senevirathne, S D B K | U16 | SRI | 1840 | 8,5 | 0 | 67,5 | 71 | 59,00 | 48,5 | |||
| 3 | 1 | GM | Mirzoev, Azer | AZE | 2416 | 8,5 | 0 | 66,5 | 71 | 57,75 | 51 | |||
| 4 | 2 | IM | Gusain, Himal | IND | 2403 | 8,5 | 0 | 66 | 71 | 58,25 | 51 | |||
| 5 | 8 | FM | Alahakoon, Isuru | SRI | 1819 | 8 | 0 | 65 | 70,5 | 54,00 | 47,5 | |||
| 6 | 10 | Sivathanujan, S | SRI | 1810 | 8 | 0 | 63,5 | 68 | 52,00 | 47 | ||||
| 7 | 36 | Senevirathne, D C B K | U14 | SRI | 1483 | 8 | 0 | 62,5 | 67 | 50,50 | 45 | |||
| 8 | 37 | Kodithuwakku, K K Dinujaya | U16 | SRI | 1480 | 8 | 0 | 60,5 | 63 | 48,00 | 46 | |||
| 9 | 30 | Gunaweera, Geenuka Kavinu | U16 | SRI | 1513 | 8 | 0 | 60 | 65 | 51,00 | 45,5 | |||
| 10 | 19 | Chandula, E D S | SRI | 1644 | 8 | 0 | 59 | 64 | 51,50 | 42,5 | ||||
| 11 | 4 | Dabarera, G W D M | SRI | 1917 | 8 | 0 | 58,5 | 62,5 | 48,50 | 43 | ||||
| 12 | 12 | Egodage, Thilina | SRI | 1751 | 8 | 0 | 58,5 | 61,5 | 47,50 | 43 | ||||
| 13 | 59 | Abiru, K A Aken | U16 | SRI | 1384 | 8 | 0 | 58 | 62 | 47,00 | 45 | |||
| 14 | 57 | Insara, S D Nadev | U16 | SRI | 1403 | 7,5 | 0 | 66 | 70,5 | 50,00 | 47 | |||
| 15 | 14 | Piyumantha, M Thisal Manjith | SRI | 1748 | 7,5 | 0 | 63,5 | 67 | 47,25 | 45,5 | ||||
| 16 | 5 | Samaranayake, K P R N | SRI | 1878 | 7,5 | 0 | 62 | 67 | 48,75 | 47 | ||||
| 17 | 42 | Kulathilake, S M M P | U16 | SRI | 1457 | 7,5 | 0 | 62 | 66 | 45,50 | 44,5 | |||
| 18 | 15 | Dharmakeerthi, G K Pasindu Nimsara | SRI | 1691 | 7,5 | 0 | 61,5 | 66 | 46,25 | 44 | ||||
| 19 | 54 | Hettiarachchi, Jeewantha Aloka | U14 | SRI | 1414 | 7,5 | 0 | 61 | 66,5 | 47,50 | 45,5 | |||
| 20 | 29 | Dharmasena, W M S S B | U16 | SRI | 1517 | 7,5 | 0 | 61 | 66,5 | 47,25 | 45,5 |
Final standings in Blitz
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | |
| 1 | 1 | IM | Kushagra, Mohan | IND | 2408 | 8,5 | 0 | 55,5 | 61,5 |
| 2 | 7 | Samaranayake, K P R N | SRI | 1724 | 8 | 0 | 53 | 58 | |
| 3 | 15 | Piyumantha, M Thisal Manjith | SRI | 1633 | 8 | 0 | 50 | 52 | |
| 4 | 2 | IM | Gusain, Himal | IND | 2279 | 8 | 0 | 47 | 51 |
| 5 | 20 | WCM | Tharushi, T H D Niklesha | SRI | 1550 | 7,5 | 0 | 53,5 | 56,5 |
| 6 | 10 | Sivathanujan, S | SRI | 1678 | 7,5 | 0 | 50,5 | 55,5 | |
| 7 | 12 | Dharmakeerthi, G K Pasindu Nimsara | SRI | 1668 | 7,5 | 0 | 50 | 55 | |
| 8 | 3 | FM | Alahakoon, Isuru | SRI | 1953 | 7,5 | 0 | 48,5 | 52,5 |
| 9 | 11 | Hettiarachchi, C U | SRI | 1671 | 7,5 | 0 | 48,5 | 52,5 | |
| 10 | 14 | Senevirathne, S D B K | SRI | 1652 | 7 | 0 | 53 | 58 |
