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Grandmaster Raunak Sadhwani excelled at the Villa De Benasque Open Chess tournament in Benasque, Spain. The prestigious international chess tournament was held from July 6 to 15.
GM Raunak Sadhwani clinched joint first place and finished third overall on the basis of tie-break scores in the ten-day long tournament in Spain. Nearly 400 players from 25 different countries participated in the event.
16-year-old Raunak Sadhwani notched up eight out of a maximum of 10 points to finish in the joint first spot. Talented teenager Raunak remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. The Nagpur-based chess star, who became GM at the tender age of 13, was awarded with a glittering trophy and a cash prize of Euros 2000.
Raunak, who is the ninth youngest player in history and the fourth youngest Indian to become a Grandmaster, also secured first prize in the Under-18 Junior category. He received a trophy and a cash prize of €250 for this achievement.
Indian GM Aravindh Chithambaram won the crown with eight points to his credit. In fact, eight players finished with eight points each at the end of the tenth and final round. On the basis of better tie-break scores, Aravindh pipped others to clinch the title.
Very happy to maintain consistency throughout the tournament: Raunak Sadhwani
Raunak, who was the Under-10 Commonwealth Chess champion in 2015 in New Delhi, impressed everyone with his high level of consistency throughout the entire tournament. He was happy with his overall performance in Spain and told Sportskeeda on Saturday:
“I am really glad that I was able to maintain consistency throughout the tournament. I played some good chess. I am eagerly looking forward to giving my best and gearing up for my maiden upcoming Chess Olympiad in Chennai."
The 44th Chess Olympiad, the world’s biggest chess event, will be hosted by Tamil Nadu from July 28 to August 10 in Chennai. Rauank will represent India for the first time at the Olympiad.
