Raunak Sadhwani has already stacked up a highlight reel that any young grandmaster would envy — a global age-group title, upset wins over elite opposition, and a team medal for India. Because so much of his story is about which events he won and who he beat, we’ll walk through his most important results in prose — the verified facts and what made each one special — rather than reconstructing move-by-move scores we can’t confirm. When you want to replay the actual moves, the best sources are his Chess.com player page and public game databases.
1. FIDE World Junior Rapid Champion, 2023
This is the standout title on Raunak’s résumé so far. At the 2023 FIDE World Junior Rapid Championship, he took the Open title with a score of 8.5/11, finishing clear of a strong international field. In the same event’s blitz section he added a second-place finish, underlining that fast chess is a real strength and not a fluke.
Winning a world age-group title is a genuine mile-marker — it means outscoring the best juniors on the planet across a full tournament, not just landing one lucky result. For Raunak, it confirmed a reputation that had been building for years: give him a faster time control and a field full of ambitious young grandmasters, and he’s one of the most dangerous players in the room.
2. The upset over Alireza Firouzja
One of Raunak’s most eye-catching individual results came against Alireza Firouzja, one of the very best speed-chess players in the world. At a World Rapid and Blitz Championship, Raunak — the significant rating underdog — beat Firouzja with the black pieces, grinding the game out over 44 moves.
Beating a 2750-plus opponent is the sort of scalp that makes the wider chess world take notice. It’s one thing to be a promising junior with a nice rating; it’s another to actually take down a genuine elite star in a serious event. Wins like this are exactly why Raunak keeps getting spoken about as a player with a ceiling well above where his rating currently sits.
3. Olympiad team bronze with India, 2022
The 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai in 2022 gave Raunak one of his proudest team results. He was part of the second Indian team (“India 2”) in the open section — a young, hungry squad — that finished third overall to claim the bronze medal. Playing on home soil, in front of an Indian crowd desperate to celebrate its new generation, that squad delivered one of the feel-good stories of the event.
Team chess is a different animal from individual play: your result is bound up with your teammates’, the board order matters, and every game carries the weight of the whole squad. For a teenager to contribute to an Olympiad medal — against many of the world’s strongest national teams — is a serious statement of belonging at the top level.
4. The body of work in fast chess
Beyond the single headline results, Raunak’s broader speed-chess record is a big part of what makes him exciting. He has posted strong finishes at World Rapid and Blitz Championships and other elite fast-play events, mixing it up with the very top of the game where the games come thick and fast and nerves are tested every few minutes.
That’s not a coincidence. Faster time controls reward exactly the qualities Raunak has in abundance — quick pattern recognition, comfort in complications, and the confidence to trust his instincts. If you want to catch him at his most dangerous, watch him in a rapid or blitz event, where the sharp, complications-loving side of his game gets the most room to breathe.
Why these results matter
Pull back and a pattern emerges. Raunak’s signature results aren’t quiet wins padded against weaker players — they’re titles and upsets in strong, international fields: a world junior title, a scalp of an elite speed-chess star, a medal at the Olympiad. He tends to show up when the competition is serious, which is the profile of a player who still has room to climb.
Want to understand how he pulls it off? See Raunak’s playing style for the strengths behind the scoreboard, or dig into his openings to see the lines he trusts under pressure. The numbers side of the story is in his rating history.
FAQ
What is Raunak Sadhwani’s biggest tournament win? His clearest individual title is the 2023 FIDE World Junior Rapid Championship, which he won with 8.5/11. He also took second in the same event’s blitz section.
Did Raunak Sadhwani beat Alireza Firouzja? Yes — he beat Firouzja, one of the world’s top speed-chess players, with the black pieces at a World Rapid and Blitz Championship, a notable upset given the rating gap.
Has Raunak Sadhwani won an Olympiad medal? Yes — he won team bronze in the open section with India’s second team at the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai in 2022.
Where can I replay Raunak Sadhwani’s games? His Chess.com player page and public game databases are the best places to find and replay his actual games move by move.
Keep exploring
Back to the Raunak Sadhwani profile · his playing style · his openings · his rating history · or browse all chess players.
Written and fact-checked by the Chess Lab Academy Editorial Team · Facts verified against Wikipedia, his FIDE profile, and Chess.com, as of July 2026 · Last verified 2026-07-10 · How we verify content.