Vaishali

🇮🇳 Chess Grandmaster

[Vaishali @chessvaishali]

It was indeed a goosebumps moment to share the podium with my brother!😍

[Praggnanandhaa @rpraggnachess]

Great moment for our family! 4 bronze medals for us!! @chessvaishali

[Vaishali @chessvaishali]

Love this complaint letter😂❤️

[ChessBase India @ChessbaseIndia]

Shortly after their achievements, we received an unexpected letter. We publish this letter in this article for our readers.

Photo: Lennart Ootes

https://t.co/kmKMkZAGfz

[ChessBase India @ChessbaseIndia]

The World Championship Challenger R. Vaishali shines in Tokyo, Japan! She won the @wr_chess women's tour's first event in Tokyo. This was an 8-player rapid tournament with the participation of some strong players in the world of chess. These were the players:

1. R. Vaishali
2. Alexandra Kosteniuk
3. Kateryna Lagno
4. Antoaneta Stefanova
5. Anna Sargsyan
6. Irine Sukandar
7. Alua Nurman
8. Azumi Sakai

Vaishali showed her class in the event. These were her results:

Quarter Finals - Vaishali beat IM Irene Sukanar 1.5-0.5
Semi Finals - Vaishali beat GM Kosteniuk 1.5-0.5
Finals - Vaishali beat IM Alua Nurman 1.5-0.5

The rapid event is done and tomorrow on the 7th of June 2026 we will have the blitz event taking place.

Photos: Lennart Ootes

#chess #chessbaseindia #Vaishalirameshbabu

[Vaishali @chessvaishali]

It was nice meeting you! Thanks sir🙏

[India 🇮🇳 in Republic of Cyprus 🇨🇾 @IndiainCyprus]

♟️🇮🇳 High Commissioner Mr. Manish @ManishGifs met Indian Grandmaster R. Vaishali @chessvaishali in Cyprus and congratulated her on winning the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026.

High Commissioner expressed happiness that an Indian Grandmaster achieved this important milestone in #Cyprus, noting that Vaishali’s success reflects the strength of India’s young minds and the country’s growing excellence on the global chessboard.

He also conveyed his best wishes for the championship ahead.

#IndiaInCyprus #RVaishali #FIDEWomenCandidates #IndianChess #Chess #Cyprus #SportsDiplomacy #India

[ChessBase India @ChessbaseIndia]

The year might be different but the emotions are the same! 😍😍

Photo: Aditya Sur Roy/ChessBase India

#chess #chessbaseindia #vaishalichess #praggnanandhaa

[ChessBase India @ChessbaseIndia]

The man who gave India two gems - Vaishali and Pragg. That's S. Thiyagarajan - the first coach of Pragg and Vaishali. The bottom picture was taken nearly 14 years ago and the above frame was captured on the 20th of April 2026 after Vaishali returned from Cyprus becoming the Women's World Championship Challenger!

What a proud moment for S. Thiyagarajan. As GM R.B. Ramesh mentioned, "Due credit should be given to Thiyagarajan for imbuing in the youngsters a "passion and work ethic" that are "out of this world". Thiyagrajan has produced "gems" and deserves far more visibility for his contribution to Indian chess than what he gets right now."

Thiyagarajan is the assistant head coach at the Bloom Chess Academy and has dedicated his life to chess coaching and training.

Photo: Aditya Sur Roy/ChessBase India

#chess #chessbaseindia #vaishalichess

[Praggnanandhaa @rpraggnachess]

We had the honour of meeting Manuel Aaron Sir, Pioneer of Indian chess. At 92 his passion is still unmatched and analyzing all top-level games. Truly inspiring and lot of respect🙏🙏

[Susan Ninan @ninansusan]

Vaishali Rameshbabu stood on the podium, a gold medal around her neck – wired from little sleep and much joy – while in the audience sat a man who had taken three flights, travelling from south India to the eastern edge of Europe, just to witness this moment.

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[ChessBase India @ChessbaseIndia]

The Queen is home 🤗❤️

Video: @adityasurroy21, @chess_holic

[ChessBase India @ChessbaseIndia]

Queen is coming for the throne 🇮🇳💎

#chess #chessbaseindia #vaishali #praggnanandhaa

[International Chess Federation @FIDE_chess]

🇮🇳 Vaishali Rameshbabu wins the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 🏆

❗️She will now challenge 🇨🇳 Ju Wenjun for the FIDE Women's World Championship title!

#FIDECandidates #FIDEWomensCandidates #FIDE #Chess #Cyprus

[ChessBase India @ChessbaseIndia]

15th April, 2026 will be marked as a red letter day in the history of Indian Chess. Today in Cyprus, Grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu became the Champion of FIDE Women's Candidates 2026 scoring 8.5/14 points! Vaishali will challenge the reigning Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun in the upcoming FIDE Women's World Championship match.

Going into the final round, Vaishali had a score of 7.5/14 points - same as Bibisara Assaubayeva. Divya Deshmukh drew against Bibisara in a wild game, and Vaishali scored a dominating win over Kateryna Lagno - with this win, she became the Champion!

Vaishali played some incredible Chess throughout the tournament. She scored 5 wins, had 7 draws, and conceded only 2 losses!

A huge congratulations to Vaishali, her family, and her team for this incredible result. 15 years ago, Koneru Humpy played against Hou Yifan in the Women's World Championship match in November 2011 - and now Vaishali will play against Ju Wenjun!

Graphic: Anmol Bhargav
#chess #ChessBaseIndia #Candidates #vaishali

[Vaishali @chessvaishali]

@naralokesh @FIDE_chess Thank you very much sir!🙏

[Vaishali @chessvaishali]

@SDhawan25 Thank you very much!!🙏🤗

[ChessBase India @ChessbaseIndia]

The amazing Guru-Shishya duo - Women's World Championship Challenger Vaishali Rameshbabu with her coach RB Ramesh!

Photo: @ram_abhyudaya

[Vaishali @chessvaishali]

@PiyushGoyal Thank you very much sir!😊🙏

[International Chess Federation @FIDE_chess]

A proud brother moment ❤️

#FIDECandidates #FIDEWomensCandidates

[International Chess Federation @FIDE_chess]

🇮🇳 Vaishali Rameshbabu: FIDE Women’s World Championship challenger, with her FIDE Women’s Candidates winner’s trophy 🌟🏆♟️

#FIDECandidates #FIDEWomensCandidates #FIDE #Chess #Cyprus

[International Chess Federation @FIDE_chess]

🇮🇳 Vaishali Rameshbabu takes the stage and lifts the 2026 FIDE Women’s Candidates trophy at the closing ceremony 🏆🔥

#FIDECandidates #FIDEWomensCandidates #FIDE #Chess #Cyprus

[International Chess Federation @FIDE_chess]

🇮🇳 Vaishali Rameshbabu delivers her victory speech after a remarkable FIDE Women’s Candidates win 🏆♟️

#FIDECandidates #FIDEWomensCandidates #FIDE #Chess #Cyprus

[International Chess Federation @FIDE_chess]

🇮🇳 Vaishali Rameshbabu speaks about the importance of support, expressing gratitude to her family, team, and sponsors ❤️♟️

#FIDECandidates #FIDEWomensCandidates #FIDE #Chess #Cyprus