First Jaffna's young chess prodigy in the World Cup Chess Tournament 2025 Eight-year-old Kajishana Tharshan has made history as the first participant from the Northern Province to compete in the World Cup Chess Tournament. She hails from the village of Inuvil and is currently studying in Grade 3 at Kokuvil Hindu Primary School. This prestigious tournament is scheduled to be held in Georgia from June 22 to July 3. Kajishana has been selected for five international finals this year alone. She has consistently excelled in chess, advancing from zonal to provincial to national, and now to the international level. Kajishana holds a rating in all categories of chess tournaments in Sri Lanka—a remarkable feat for her age. In December of last year, she ranked second in the world in the Rapid Chess rating for players under 7. In 2024, she secured first place at the zonal, provincial, and national levels in the under-7 girls category at the school chess championship organized by the Sri Lanka Schools Chess Association (SLSCA). Additionally, in January 2025, she won a silver medal at the Super 10 national-level youth chess tournament.