Sri Lanka’s promising youth chess player, WIM Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana, etched in the history book of chess by climbing to No. 1 in the latest Under-13 Girls’ World Chess Rankings, and this is the first ever instance where a Sri Lankan player reached the top position in world rankings at any age level.
She started chess at Ferguson Girl’s High School, Ratnapura, and later she moved to Wycherley International School, Colombo 07, with the aim of excelling her talents. She trains under veteran coach Akila Kavinda.
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Along with this historic milestone, she attained the 42nd position in the World Junior Girls’ ranking, posting the first instance where a Sri Lankan female player has reached the top 50 by breaking into an elite group of players. According to her peak FIDE rating with a value of 2272, Oshini shines as the highest-rated junior female player in the global list. During June 2024, she became the youngest Sri Lankan player to achieve the Woman FIDE Master title when she was officially awarded it by the World Chess Federation (FIDE) after achieving the required ELO rating of 1900 (before that she had the conditional FIDE Master title).
Her stunning and unwavering international performances during the past five years built her a solid base, and they paved the way to this groundbreaking achievement.
In 2021, at the age of nine, she became world youth champion by winning the Girls’ Under-10 title in the online FIDE Youth Chess World Cup, the first time a Sri Lankan had won a world-level title under FIDE. In October 2022, she won the Under-10 Girls’ section at the Asian Youth Chess Championship, which was held in Bali, Indonesia.
During the next year (2023), she achieved a significant milestone by becoming the under-12 champion at the FIDE World Cadets Chess Championship. Oshini posted this victory by keeping her unbeaten tag intact with a score of 9.5/11 and clinched Sri Lanka’s first and only medal in this category.
During the National Women’s Chess Championship 2024, which is the premier event in the domestic chess calendar, she clinched the championship by making a strong statement as the youngest female player to have won the National Chess Championship in Sri Lankan chess history.
She kept her fine rhythm in 2025, when she competed in the inaugural FIDE Under 12 World Cup, which concluded in Batumi, Georgia, and won a bronze medal.
So far this rising talent has displayed an extraordinary performance with much maturity in this mind game. Her parents and coach believe more exposure in the global competitions will provide her the much-needed experience which will enable more groundbreaking achievements for Sri Lanka. But with a lack of sponsorships, her success will be hindered, as many of her accomplishments have been achieved through personal sacrifice and private dedication.
Landmark Achievements of her career:
- 2021 Asian Youth Online Chess Championship (U-10 girls) – 2nd runners up
- 2021 Western Asia Youth Online Chess Championship held in Sri Lanka (U-10 girls) – Champion
- 2021 FIDE Online World Cup Cadets and Youth (U-10 girls) – Champion
- 2022 Asian Schools Chess Championship (U-11 girls – Blitz and Rapid) – Champion
- 2022 Asian Schools Chess Championship (U-11 girls – Classical) – Champion
- 2022 Commonwealth Chess Championship (U-10 girls) held in Waskaduwa Sri Lanka – Champion
- 2022 Asian Youth Chess Championship, held in Bangkok, Thailand (U-10 girls) – Champion
- 2023 West Asian Youth Chess Championship (U-12 girls – Rapid and Blitz events) – Champion ‘Girls Player of the Year’ awarded by Asian Chess Federation
- 2023 FIDE World Cadet Chess Championship (U-12 girls) – Champion – the first ever medal won by a Sri Lankan player following which she received the WIM title
- 2024 45th World Chess Olympiad organised by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Budapest, Hungary – Represented Sri Lanka as a member of the National Women’s Outfit and placed 3rd in Category C scoring 8.5 out of 9 rounds
- 2024 National Women’s Chess Championship – Champion
- 2024 West Asian Girls Chess Championship held in Waskaduwa Sri Lanka (U-20) – Champion
- 2025 featured in the FIDE Women’ Chess World Cup 2025, in Batumi, Georgia.
