Chess veteran warns players must use head and not heart

by a Special Sports Correspondent

The Senior National Chess Championships for the year 2022 conducted recently produced two players who shared equal first after seven rounds of matches. Derrick Perera, rated second, and T.D R Peiris, rated third, finished on top after several rounds of competitive chess worked off in keeping with the Swiss Scoring System at the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka (CFSL) Headquarters in Nugegoda.

The tournament attracted several accomplished veterans and among them were Sudarman Pitigala, Nandika Ruwan and A.H Katugampola.

Derrick Perera who finished on a high airing his views on the tournament said that he maintained the mentality to always play for a win. “In competitive chess, you cannot settle for draws. You have to find ways of keeping yourself motivated and conserving your energy because playing three games during certain days of the tournament can be taxing,” said Perera who was at one time a competitive player and also the president of the CFSL.

Perera said that he always advised players to play for wins unless games would end in technical draws. But according to records at the tournament there had been players who were quite happy offering draws; promoting a sense of camaraderie among players.

Perera said that he had returned to competitive chess after a long break. “I’m not a professional chess player, so I don’t play under unwanted pressure. But I always played to win; and this approach helps to bring the best out in players. I was relaxed and concentrating and as a result I tried new things during matches,” he said.

He said that it’s important to know when to release ones pressure. “You have to keep the opponent guessing all the time regarding when you are going to release your pressure,” said Perera. He said that in round six there had been a power outage and that had affected the players. Perera is a diabetic and under medication and he said that it was also important for someone under medication to maintain health during a competitive tournament. “I made it a point not to release my pressure too early in the tournament,” said Perera who had to win his last three games-scheduled for the final day- to have any hopes of winning on a high. He won all three games. One of his setbacks during the tournament was losing to T.D.R. Peiris, but that game was played before the final day of the tournament.

According to Perera most players are chess coaches as well. As a result they neglect their playing. “In Sri Lanka it is very hard to play chess for a living, but chess coaching is quite a lucrative occupation over here. I’m not a coach and concentrated on my game and playing. Those who took the latter approach to the game were able to come to the tournament and destroy the field,” explained Perera.

Perera said that it’s very important for players to have other interests in life outside chess. “Chess is a game which taxes the mind. Some players who are obsessed with the game don’t know to knock off; hence they run the risk of burnout or even brain damage,” he said. Perera is an academic, practises the Christian faith and is a family man. He said that his attention is spanned over many areas in life. “I play chess with my brain and think of other things important to me using my heart,” he said.

T.D.R Peiris said that he was happy to finish joint first at the tournament. Peiris, who is 64 years old-who commenced the final day of the tournament with 3 ½ points and managed to get 4 ½ points at the conclusion of the tournament. Peiris coaches players and makes chess equipment for a living. He said that he has struggled to maintain a family and continue playing chess because the sport doesn’t offer many avenues to raise revenue. When asked to explain the reason behind his lack of prosperity despite his lifelong commitment to chess, Peiris had this to say, “I think it’s probably because I make crucial decisions from the heart when others would take such decisions using the mind”.

P.K Chandrasiri, Pitigala and Ajantha de Silva finished tied with 4 ½ points each.