Chess: Raunak Sadhwani is charting his own path at his own pace

bombay: In 2021, after Raunak Sadhwani crossed the 2600 Elo deutschmark simply months shy of turn 16, his rating – for a legal brief period – was above the likes of D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa who were around the same age.

Four years on, the 19-year-old has a classical rating of 2638, and is among the bunch of the next-in-line promising Indian teens – including the likes of junior world champion Pranav V – seeking to break into the elite of world chess.

Sadhwani’s aim, though, remains to chase something even higher, and land in the territory where Gukesh entered last year.

“My ambition is to become a world champion. And I have to be at the top for that. I’m trying my best, and I’m confident that I can make it,” Sadhwani said ahead of his visit to Mumbai for the Global Chess League (GCL) starting on Sunday.

His contemporaries in Gukesh, 19, and Pragg, 20, have taken the fast lane to the top. Ask Sadhwani, who is happy to chart his own path at his own pace, if that adds to the motivation or the pressure, and his response is instant.

“It does neither,” he said. “It doesn’t matter, because I have to work and improve on my own game. I don’t care how they are doing or what they are doing. I just check their games, and that’s about it.

“I have played all of them quite a few times. And they are my opponents when I play them, anyway. So it doesn’t matter what they are doing. What matters is what I am doing.”

What hasn’t been ideal in the journey of this Nagpur teen is the absence of a full-time coach currently.

Sadhwani was mentored in his early days by Vladimir Kramnik before the talent was picked up to train at the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy. While he has since worked “with some coaches here and there” and continues to have a few sessions with Westbridge, he does feel the absence of a proper full-time coach. It leaves him to largely prepare on his own, pinches him especially during tournaments, and makes the process of climbing the ladder more challenging.

“I work on my own, mostly. It’s definitely much more difficult to manage everything yourself. Coaching in chess is expensive. If you don’t have a full-time sponsor, it’s tough to keep up. So, that has been the biggest issue. But at the moment I’m trying. I’m also trying to get some seconds who can help me during tournaments, at least, if not full-time,” he said.

After a strong finish to 2024 where he shared the first place at the London Chess Classic and left a mark at the World Rapid and Blitz by taking down world No.6 Alireza Firouzja, Sadhwani has hit a bit of a rough patch over the last six months.

“I had a very bad trip (of tournaments outside) and lost 40 points. That was rough,” said Sadhwani, who also exited in the second-round of the Goa World Cup last month in tie-breaks. “Losses are also important, because sometimes they come as a wake-up call to you. But, of course, they hurt in the moment.”

Sadhwani hopes to get back on track and the ratings climb again next year. A big goal, which will also be a significant next step in his quest to join the super GMs, is to cross the 2700 mark.

“My goal is to get to 2700 by the end of 2026, which is important to get a start. That’s why I’m playing many open tournaments next year.”

For the coming week, though, sharing a team with Anand, No.4 Vincent Keymer and World Cup winner Javokhir Sindarov at the GCL is getting the teen excited.

“The team is really young, with Vishy sir as the icon. I know all of them personally quite well, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.”

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