Sadhwani is charting his own path at his own pace

In 2021, after Raunak Sadhwani crossed the 2600 Elo mark just months shy of turning 16, his rating — for a brief period — was above the likes of D Gukesh and R Praggnanan-dhaa who were around the same age.

- Rutvick Mehta

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.