R. Vaishali – Meet India’s newest Grandmaster

R. Vaishali, the third Indian woman to become a Grandmaster, has set sights on the Candidates tournament, scheduled for next April.

Laser-focused: R. Vaishali is the third Indian female, after Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli, to become a Grandmaster. | Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI

They often played chess at home. She would always beat her younger brother. For three or four years, it was like that — she would win invariably; there would not even be a draw.

Then one day, the little brother beat her. She was upset. R. Vaishali realised and accepted that her brother, Praggnanandhaa, was a better player than her.

She was happy to see him soar higher and higher on the chessboard. Just 18 years of age, he is now ranked 13th in the world. He has reached the final of the Chess World Cup, which also meant he would play at the Candidates, the qualifying tournament for the World title match. He would only be the second Indian to be a part of the Candidates event after Viswanathan Anand.

Vaishali’s career, though, wasn’t getting the impetus it needed. She had won the World Under-12 Championship in 2012 and then the Under-14 Championship three years later.

READ | Vaishali, India’s third female Grandmaster, is making all the right moves

She was doing alright and remained one of India’s better players in women’s chess. But she seemed to stagnate after crossing the Elo rating of 2400 in 2019. She hovered around there for some three years, even as Praggnanandhaa continued to make news with his stunning exploits across the world; even people who didn’t know much about chess followed his incredible campaign at the World Cup in Baku.

It looked as though Vaishali would remain in his shadows. But last year, things finally began to change. She won the Fischer Memorial round-robin tournament in Greece, pushing male Grandmasters behind her. She then reached the semifinals of the World Speed Chess Championship.

She continued her fine run at the Chess Olympiad, held in Mamallapuram, not too far from her home in Chennai. She helped India win bronze in the women’s event. She also won the individual bronze medal on the third board.

Then, in December last year, at the Tata Steel Chess India tournament in Kolkata, she came up with a spectacular performance, winning the blitz title. She played superbly to come on top of a field that contained some of the biggest names in international women’s chess like Koneru Humpy, the Muzychuk sisters — Anna and Mariya — Nana Dzagnidze, and Anna Ushenina. If 2022 was great for Vaishali, 2023 is turning out to be greater. Last month, she registered her career best performance, winning the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament, one of the biggest events of the year.

Vaishali draws her last-round game against Batkhuyag Munguntuul and, with this half point, reaches 8.5 and secures tournament victory! 🏆
Congratulations! 👏👏#FIDEGrandSwisspic.twitter.com/0fY2f9tPk0

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) November 5, 2023

She had begun as the 12th seed and went on to win the title without losing a single game. The win also saw her qualify for the women’s Candidates. She will travel to Toronto next April with Praggnanandhaa, for the tournament.

Barely a month after her Grand Swiss victory in the Isle of Man, where Vidit Gujrathi won the open title, making it one of the greatest days for Indian chess, Vaishali became a Grandmaster. It is the ultimate title a chess player could hope for, and before her, only two Indian women had achieved it: Humpy and Dronavalli Harika.

After securing her final GM norm — you need three — from the Qatar Masters tournament in October, she touched the 2500 mark in Elo rating during the El Llobregat Open tournament in Spain early this month to complete the requirements for the title. Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali have become the world’s first Grandmaster siblings.

Deadly duo: R. Vaishali, along with her younger brother R. Praggnanandhaa, became the first brother-sister duo to qualify for the respective Candidates. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

It was in 2011 that Harika became the second Indian woman to become the Grandmaster. So, Vaishali joining the exclusive club means a great deal for Indian women’s chess. She will inspire other young female players in the country to aim for the title.

Vaishali’s emergence as a strong player is something the women’s game in India badly needs. Even though India has been producing world-beaters among boys regularly, very few girls are coming through.

“It is great that we now have in Vaishali a truly world-class female player after Humpy and Harika,” Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay, who watched Vaishali from close quarters as the Head of Delegation of the Indian team at the Olympiad, tells  Sportstar over the phone from Mumbai. “I am really happy to find that she has made progress over the last couple of years. I like her aggressive style of play. She is good at her attacks, and her openings are fine too, but she needs to work more on her endings.”

You could expect Vaishali to do that, given her capacity for hard work. Her coach, R.B. Ramesh, says she has been putting a lot of effort into her preparation.

“She has no doubt improved greatly of late,” says Ramesh. “She has benefited from working with her trainers at the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy.”

Vaishali has also gained from playing in tournaments around the globe. She has been lucky that she has an excellent sponsor in P.R. Venketrama Raja, founder and chairman of Ramco Group.

He has also been sponsoring Praggnanandhaa. “Having a sponsor is very important for the development of a young chess player,” says Thipsay. “You have to play regularly in Europe, and getting good coaches, especially from abroad, is very expensive.”

With the best possible sparring partner in Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali will only soar higher.