Raunak Sadhwani wins French Top 16 2026 for C’Chartres Echecs

By admin June 16, 2026 0 comments

GM Raunak Sadhwani won French Top 16 Club Championship 2026 for his team C’Chartres Echecs.

Sole Indian on the podium

The team championship was played with a team consisting of eight players each with one female player being mandatory to play in each round. The ‘Top 16’ in the tournament name gives away the fact that 16 best teams of France took part in this event. These teams are divided into two groups. In each group, they compete against each other in seven rounds. At the end of this phase, the first four of each group advance to the high pool, the remaining four teams are gathered in the lower pool. The eight teams of the high pool remain in the Top 16 and compete in four rounds for the title of champion of France Clubs. The eight teams of the lower pool also compete in four rounds with their survival in the Top 16 at stake, the first four will be maintained, the other four teams will be relegated to the lower division.

C’Chartres Echecs won French Top 16 Club Championship for the third consecutive year. They defeated the eventual runner-up, Échiquier du Roy René d’Aix-en-Provence by 2-1 in the final round of the Poule Haute (High Pool) stage.

The winning team C’Chartres Echecs comprised of GM Raunak Sadhwani, GM Rauf Mamedov, GM Vasyl Ivanchuk, GM Maxime Lagarde, GM Laurent Fressinet, GM Gata Kamsky, GM Daniel Dardha, IM Timothe Razafindratsima, GM Namig Guliyev and IM Deimante Daulyte-Cornette. Raunak scored 3.5/5 in group stage and 1/3 in the high pool stage.

Champion – C’Chartres Echecs 31 points | Photo: Fédération Française des Echecs

Runner-up – L’Échiquier du Roy René d’Aix-en-Provence 28 points | Photo: Fédération Française des Echecs

Second Runner-up – Marseille Echecs 26 points | Photo: Fédération Française des Echecs

Top 3 (L to R): 2nd L’Échiquier du Roy René d’Aix-en-Provence, 1st CChartres Echecs and 3rd Marseille Echecs | Photo: Fédération Française des Echecs