How 14-year-old WIM Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana changed Sri Lankan chess forever

Sri Lanka’s brightest hope

One of the most inspiring things about sport is when an athlete carries an entire nation’s hopes on their shoulders. For Sri Lanka, that moment came in 2023, when a 12-year-old girl from Mount Lavinia began to make her mark in chess. That girl is Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana, the youngest WIM of Sri Lanka. She is currently the world's number one Under-15 girl, ranked 96th in the world among women, and 13th among junior girls globally. At 14 years and one month, she became the youngest player in the entire FIDE Women's Top 100 list.

When Devindya Oshini first sat across a chessboard at Ferguson High School in Ratnapura, no one could have predicted the trajectory she would take. By 2021, her talent was impossible to ignore. Wycherley International School in Colombo offered her a full scholarship. It was the first of many leaps of faith that would define her journey.

The results came thick and fast. In 2022, she won gold at the Asian Youth Championship in the Under-10 category. The Commonwealth Championship followed. So did the Asian Schools title. By the end of the year, Oshini had established herself as the most promising young player Sri Lanka had produced in decades.

In Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, at the FIDE World Cadet Chess Championship, Oshini did what no Sri Lankan had ever done before. She won gold in the Under-12 Girls category. It was Sri Lanka's first-ever medal at a World Cadet event. The performance earned her the WFM title and, soon after, the "Girls Player of the Year" award from the Asian Chess Federation. Later that year, she added a silver at the Western Asian Junior Championship, earning her first WIM norm.

Then came 2024. At the Western Asian Girls (U20) Championship, Oshini clinched gold and secured the WIM title outright. She became only the third Sri Lankan woman ever to achieve the title and by far the youngest in the nation's history, at just 12 years and 5 months.

The same year, she became the youngest Sri Lanka National Women's Champion, representing her country at the 45th Chess Olympiad, where she scored an astonishing 8.5/9 and helped Sri Lanka win bronze in Category C.

2025 was about dominance for Oshini. In December 2025, she topped the FIDE rankings for Under-13 girls. She has now extended that supremacy to the Under-15 category, where she sits at World No. 1. Her rating of 2347 makes her the first Sri Lankan woman ever to cross 2100, let alone approach 2350. For a country ranked 92nd in the world by FIDE, with no Grandmasters and minimal chess infrastructure, these achievements are nothing short of miraculous.

Behind every great player is a great mentor. For Oshini, that mentor is CM FI Akila Kavinda, who has coached her since 2020. Recognizing her potential early, Akila refused to charge fees. He continues to support her despite limited resources and recognition.

Oshini's journey has a special connection with India. Since 2022, she has participated in ten major tournaments across the country. Her mother shared that regular exposure to strong competition, the hospitality, and the affordability of events organized by individuals like Mr. Gopakumar and Mr. Sekar Sahu have been instrumental in her growth.

Despite all her success, Oshini’s journey has reached a difficult point. Her family may soon be forced to stop her chess career simply because they can no longer afford to continue. Her mother shared that the Sri Lankan government supported Oshini with a one-time grant of $1500 (approximately Rs. 1,40,000) in 2023, after personally reaching out to the sports minister. Since 2021, the chess federation has contributed around $2500 (approximately Rs. 2,31,000). However, these amounts fall far short of what is required to compete regularly at the international level.

Through it all, her coach, Akila Kavinda, has continued to train her without charging any fees. Friends and relatives have also stepped in to offer support whenever possible. A turning point came when a Sri Lankan businessman, Mr. Yaseen, sponsored two of her European tours after reading about her in a newspaper. The impact was immediate. From a rating of 2101, she climbed to 2270, and then further to 2347. Yet, despite this progress, the challenge remains. To continue her journey, Oshini and her family are still in search of consistent sponsorship.

"We need an additional sponsor to continue participating in competitive tournaments. Oshini has the talent, the work ethic, and the results. What she lacks is the financial backing that players from stronger chess nations take for granted."

- her mother shared.

Oshini dreams of becoming a Grandmaster and Women's World Champion. To understand why her case deserves attention, consider this: almost every player in the FIDE Women’s Top 100 comes from countries with somewhat or mostly well-established chess cultures. These are nations that have produced multiple Grandmasters, with structured training systems, regular international exposure, sponsorship networks, and access to elite coaching. Sri Lanka has had limited access to most of these advantages. Yet Oshini has broken into that elite list. She has done so without the support systems that many of her peers benefit from. Her rise is built on raw talent, relentless hard work, and the unwavering belief of a small circle of supporters.

If you would like to support Oshini’s journey, you can reach out to her mother at chandimarathnayake19@gmail.com or contact her at +94 74 193 2029.