The Elephant House Factor Behind Sri Lanka’s Olympiad Gold

A historic performance by Sri Lanka’s Women’s Team at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand saw the team secure Gold in Category C and finish 34th overall, climbing an impressive 43 places from their starting rank of 77th.

Leading the charge was Oshini Gunawardhana, the world’s youngest Woman International Master (WIM), alongside National Champion Dahamdi Sanudula and an exceptionally young team with an average age of under 16.

But behind every move on the board was hours of preparation.

Grandmaster Boris Chatalbashev of Bulgaria worked tirelessly throughout the Olympiad, preparing the team for each opponent, analysing positions late into the night and helping each player arrive at the board ready for the challenge ahead.

Making this dedicated coaching programme possible was Elephant House, which covered the coaching costs for Sri Lanka’s Women’s Team in Samarkand.

The results speak to what this young team was capable of — Oshini continuing her rise towards becoming Sri Lanka’s first Woman Grandmaster, Yenuthi Sahanlee earning her Woman FIDE Master title, and Sandithi and Sayumi making significant gains in their ratings.

It was a collective effort of talent, preparation, coaching and support — with a young Sri Lankan team showing the world what they can achieve.

The Chess Federation of Sri Lanka extends its sincere appreciation to Elephant House for supporting our Women’s Team on their remarkable journey at the 46th Chess Olympiad