By Ishani Upatharitha
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Buddhika Amarasinghe is one of the three players who represent Sri Lanka in the Asian Zonal Chess Championship that will begin today (1 June)[/caption]
The Asian Zonal Chess Championship 2021, the preliminary event for FIDE World Chess Cup 2021 in the South Asia region, will get underway today (1 June) on the Tornelo virtual platform.
Sri Lanka has fielded a strong team headed by the current national chess champion Ranindu Dilshan Liyanage, still a student of Ananda College, Colombo. The other two members are L.M.S.T. De Silva, a Nalanda College - Colombo schoolboy, and Buddhika Amarasinghe of SJP Chess Club.
This year, the event is conducted by the Bangladesh Chess Federation. It will be held from 1 to 9 June 2021 according to the Swiss System of nine rounds. The games will be held from 3 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. each day.
The Chess Federation of Sri Lanka has arranged Grandmaster Alexie Barasov of Uzbekistan to train and advice the national players during the time the championship is held.
The term “Hybrid Chess” means that the players from each country are playing from their respective venues under the supervision of a local Chief Arbiter while the player is also observed electronically by the Tournament Arbiters using two cameras through the Zoom technology.
All anti-cheating measures will be in place and the participants will be advised to adhere to the standard FIDE rules and regulations.
If any player or a local arbiter is found guilty of violating the fair-play rules, FIDE has the authority to hand in a maximum of 15-year ban from active chess.
The Sri Lanka players will take part in the championship from the Sri Lanka Chess Federation headquarters at Gangodawila, Nugegoda.