[3] In 1945, just after World War II ended, Sarapu was invited to stay with a family friend in Denmark.

[5] There, he defeated former world chess championship candidate Efim Bogoljubov with a sharp turnaround from a bad position.

[6] Sarapu finished in fifth place with 11–6, a point behind tournament winners Bogolyubov and Elmārs Zemgalis, and a half-point behind Nicolas Rossolimo and Herbert Heinicke.

In addition to Bogolyubov, other world-class players whom Sarapu played include World Champions Bobby Fischer (a loss at the Sousse 1967 Interzonal), Garry Kasparov (a loss at the Lucerne 1982 Olympiad), Boris Spassky (a draw at Wellington 1988), and perennial World Championship candidate Viktor Korchnoi (a draw at the Sousse Interzonal).

[16] In the 1980 Queen's Birthday Honours, Sarapu was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to chess.