Over the past few weeks, Vaishali Rameshbabu has played some of the best chess of her life. It’s been one of the most phenomenal runs by an Indian female chess player in recent memory.
The 22-year-old defeated three former women’s world champions and qualified for the Women’s Candidates at the Women’s Grand Swiss tournament in the Isle of Man. She joins her brother Praggnanandhaa, 18, who has found his spot in next year’s Candidates – the eight-player final qualifying tournament for the World Championship. They are the first brother-sister duo in history to make the Candidates.
Often overshadowed by her younger brother’s celebrity, Vaishali has for a while now been an International Master with Grandmaster strength. Tactical, aggressive and dynamic, she has shown immense composure and gumption against some of the biggest names in the women’s game over the past few weeks in the heart of the Irish Sea. Vaishali is within touching distance of becoming only India’s third woman GM. It’s been a huge personal goal for her.
At the Isle of Man, the world caught a glimpse of Vaishali’s fearsome play beneath her quiet, angelic exterior, shredding former women’s world champions Mariya Muzychuk, Antoaneta Stefanova and Tan Zhongyi. She crushed one half of the formidable Muzychuk sisters of Ukraine in just 23 moves. In August, Mariya knocked out Vaishali from the World Cup.
She wasn’t done.
In Round 10 against China’s Tan – she beat Vaishali at the Asian Games a month ago – Vaishali perhaps chuckled inwardly at her opponent’s decision to not trade queens early on. After 25. Qb4, Vaishali’s white queen tapped into the b-file to attack the black king. Black somehow made the time control after white’s potent Nxd5 threat with 33. Nf4 but resigned soon after.
The result consolidated Vaishali’s position as the sole leader in the tournament with a round to go, assuring her one of the two spots on offer for the Candidates. She becomes only the second Indian female chess player to qualify for the women’s Candidates tournament, after Koneru Humpy. Humpy went as far as the Women’s World Championship final, in 2011, which she lost to China’s Hou Yifan.
Vaishali believes a mental recalibration may have played a role in her recent results. “When we were kids, we used to just enjoy the game. In the last few years, I have been so focused on norms and titles that I forgot to enjoy chess. Now I’ve begun to do so again, even with the preparation. I suppose that’s helping,” she told Chessbase India. Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali are receiving personalised training support from the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy.
It’s not the Women’s Grand Swiss alone. In the week leading up to it, Vaishali put up an impressive show at the Qatar Masters, among the strongest open tournaments of the year. She faced GMs in eight of the 10 rounds, rang in her third and final GM norm and finished among the best women players of the tournament. She spoke of her brother, who was back home in Chennai then, helping her with opening preparation against a stacked field.
Vaishali’s promise wasn’t without its early sightings.
In 2013, when Chennai was dolling up to host the World Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen, Vaishali had her mini moment. She was among the four kids who defeated Carlsen in a simul he played against 20 kids. She was already a multiple-time age group national champion by then.
She is a study in contrast to her more popular brother. She isn’t used to being the hyped sibling, she didn’t rack up records in the youngest-ever IM and GM titles or have a flashy breakout run early in her career. They do share the distinction of two world junior titles each and two bronze medals each (team and individual) at last year’s Olympiad.
Though she always carried a promise, it took Vaishali a while to get here. Ever willing to hang behind and let her brother step into the spotlight, she’s never been short of diligence. She can throw in a polite, almost self-deprecating smile when asked if she helps her brother with chess ideas and almost always vouches that she’s the primary beneficiary of their exchanges.
At the Isle of Man, the siblings share a playing hall and Praggnanandhaa has been spotted walking up to his sister’s board often enough to pause and glance at proceedings. On Saturday too, as Vaishali sniffed a win, Praggnanandhaa wore a curious look and mint-green sweatshirt as he paced near her board right after he’d wrapped up his own game.
Like in every tournament, their mother Nagalakshmi is accompanying them on the British Isle. The World Cup this year turned her into something of a minor celebrity and she has been quizzed endlessly on her portable cookware and the staple rasam-rice meals she whips up for her world-beating kids out of hotel rooms during tournaments.
It’s a family on a milestone mission. This time it is Vaishali’s turn. She knows she’s waited long enough for her moment. It’s finally here – all glory and gunpowder.
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