The plight of a chess champ

From Sri Lanka's The Nation on Sunday by By Ravi Nagahawatte

Sri Lanka’s Women FIDE Master Pramodya Senanayake is a little girl whose achievements in chess have hugely influenced boys and girls in her country to take to the 64-square-board game. Senanayake at present is a celebrity at chess having just added the national title to her list of victories.

The humble 16-year-old school girl from Musaeus College told The Nation that she felt happy to see many boys and girls take to chess following her successes but said that there should be more support for the sport from the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka (CFSL) and sponsors.

“As much as the game gains through the entrance of talented players each year it also loses a good number of senior players. This is because chess doesn’t promise players a secure future. As a result good players opt for more established careers. I plan to do the same,” she said.

When players like Senanayake travel abroad for tournaments they come in contact with foreign players who are devoted to chess. Does it make Sri Lankans feel that they don’t try hard enough?

“Sri Lanka doesn’t have a culture for chess. If a player takes to chess and doesn’t make it he or she will not have anything to show. As a result Sri Lankans drop out of chess to make room for studies. The majority of individuals who continue playing devote little time for chess because most of them still attend school,” explained Senanayake.

This schoolgirl winning the FIDE Master title at the Chess Olympiad last year gave Sri Lanka chess a shot in the arm. The feat has exposed the need that women players should be trained for tournaments just like male players. However, strangely the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka has shown no interest to acknowledge Senanayake’s feat of becoming the first Sri Lankan women to win a FIDE Master Title.

There's quite a lot more interesting content in this interview with Senanayake. You can find it at http://www.nation.lk/2007/02/18/sports2.htm (right beneath the Rugby article).