Divya Deshmukh and Raunak Sadhwani win individual gold at International Chess meets in Dubai and Delhi

International Master Raunak Sadhwani bagged the gold medal in the 15th Dubai Juniors Chess Tournament, while Divya Deshmukh participated in both the open and Under 16 category. Drawing appreciation from the experienced players  Divya acquired a gold in the U-16 category in the Commonwealth Chess Championship.

New International Master, Sadhwani came into the tournament as the top seed. Standing up to the expectations, he kept dominating all the nine rounds that he played, returning with a gold and cash prize of $2000. With 8.5 points to his name, he glorified above eight players in a field of 140 Masters from 18 countries.

With initial victories against Aamer Saeed Alyileili and Ahmed Alawlaqi of UAE in the primitive two rounds of the tournament, he constantly took on opponents and utilized the Sicilian move to overpower Babazada Khazar in the penultimate round. In the finals, he registered a win within 35 moves to claim the title.

“Winning a Championship as a top seed is a great feeling. I am happy with my performance. This triumph will definitely boosted my confidence. I am thankful to my coach, GM Swapnil Dhopade sir, who has always taken lot of efforts to improve my game,” Raunak told TOI.

With the U-16 win in Delhi, Deshmukh bagged a hat-trick of gold medals in the Commonwealth event. In the event, Divya secured five rounds to her name, while dividing the points twice after coming to a draw. Starting the event with a draw against Vrushti Shah, she won the next three consecutive rounds. After a draw against third seed Meenal Gupta of Jammu & Kashmir in the sixth round, Divya went on to grab the gold after overpowering Sanskriti Goyal in the finale.

Deshmukh also participated in the open category of the tournament, where she finished at the 61st position among the 165 players from 12 countries and invited appreciation from the experienced players of the tournament.

“I am happy with this gold medal but wish to improve various aspects of my game. I need to learn many new moves on the board,” Divya said.