Grandmaster Raunak Sadhwani provided a solid start to India B’s campaign in the opening round match against United Arab Emirates by registering a stunning win against Abdulrahman M at the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, Chennai on Friday.
The 16-year-old form the Orange City playing his maiden Olympiad, completed the win with the White pieces in a Sicilian defence game lasting 41 moves.
Enjoying space advantage, Sadhwani broke through on the king side after the exchange of minor pieces and dragged the king in a checkmating net with the queen and rooks combining efficiently. “I am happy to start with a victory. This is my first Olympiad. It feels great to play a good game,” Sadhwani said after the victory.
“We want to play good chess. I think the US has the strongest lineup but if we play good chess, we can even beat them. We should take all the teams seriously as any player can play well. This is the Olympiad,” he added.
A total of 184 teams out of 188 sides began their campaign on Friday in this 11 Round Swiss League tournament where India’s three sides are taking part in the open section.