Raunak Sadhwani wins FIDE World Junior Rapid Championship

Grandmaster Raunak Sadhwani won the FIDE World Junior Rapid Chess Championship in Sardinia, Italy, on Thursday.

Raunak scored 8.5 over 11 rounds to win the Championship ahead of Arseniy Nesterov of Russia, who scored 8.

In the open section, Raunak, a 17-year-old rising star from Nagpur, India, displayed his prowess and unyielding determination to register a remarkable victory.

After getting off to a shaky start, Raunak picked up steam and came into the final round, sharing the top position with three players.

The Indian GM pulled off a crucial victory over Tobias Koelle, who was leading the race for most of the event, and clinched the title as two other co-leaders, Nesterov and Dimitris Alexakis, drew their game and tied for second place with Or Globus.

Nesterov claimed silver thanks to superior tiebreaks and became the only unbeaten player in the open section; Alexakis took bronze.

Raunak became a grandmaster at the age of 13. He is the ninth youngest player in history and the fourth youngest Indian to be awarded the title.