R Vaishali
Vaishali in 2023
Full nameRameshbabu Vaishali
CountryIndia
Born (2001-06-21) 21 June 2001
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
TitleGrandmaster (2023)
FIDE rating2481 (January 2024)
Peak rating2497 (December 2023)
Medal record
Representing  India
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place2022 HangzhouWomen's team

Rameshbabu Vaishali (born 21 June 2001) is an Indian chess grandmaster. She is the third woman in India to have achieved the grandmaster title,[1] making her and her brother Praggnanandhaa the first-ever brother-sister duo to achieve the grandmaster title. They also became the first-ever brother-sister duo to qualify for the Candidates Tournament.[2]

Personal life

Vaishali was born in a Tamil family in Chennai. She is the elder sibling of Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa. Her father, Rameshbabu, works at TNSC Bank as a branch manager. Her mother, Nagalakshmi, is a homemaker.

Vaishali's father, Rameshbabu, was an enthusiastic chess player and introduced her to the game when she was a young girl.[2]

Career

Vaishali won the Girls' World Youth Chess Championship for Under-12s in 2012 and Under-14s in 2015.[3] In 2013, at age 12, she defeated future World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in a simul competition that Carlsen held while in her hometown of Chennai for the World Chess Championship 2013.[4][5]

In 2016, she received the Woman International Master (WIM) title, and in October 2016, she was ranked second in India and World No.12 girl U16-player. At that time, she had an Elo rating of 2300.

She became a Woman Grandmaster (WGM) by completing her final norm in the Riga Technical University Open chess tournament in Riga, Latvia on 12 August 2018.[6]

Vaishali was the part of the Gold medal-winning team[7] at Online Olympiad 2020, where India won its first ever medal.[8]

She received her International Master (IM) title in 2021. In 2022, Vaishali won the 8th Fischer Memorial, scoring 7.0/9 and winning her second Grandmaster norm.[9][10][11][12]

Vaishali was invited to participate in the FIDE Women's Speed Chess Championship 2022,[13] where she defeated the Women's World Blitz Chess Champion Bibisara Assaubayeva in the round of 16,[14] and compatriot Harika Dronavalli in the quarterfinals.[15][16]

Vaishali played on Board 3 in the Women's section at the 44th Chess Olympiad at Mamallapuram, Chennai, in July-Aug 2022. India Women team won the Team bronze medal, and Vaishali won individual bronze medal for Board 3.

Vaishali played in the Tata Steel Challengers 2023, scoring 4.5/14 and beating two 2600 rated GMs, Luis Paulo Supi and Jerguš Pecháč. She finished twelfth in the standings overall.[17]

In the Qatar Masters Open 2023, Vaishali received her final GM norm after finishing with 5/9 and a performance rating of 2609.[18] She also won the top women's prize in the tournament, after finishing with better tiebreaks (performance rating) than compatriot Divya Deshmukh.[18]

Vaishali won the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss 2023 held in the Isle of Man by not losing a single game and scoring 8.5/11, thereby qualifying to compete in the Women's Candidates Tournament to be held in Toronto, Canada in 2024.[19][20] She and her younger brother Praggnanandhaa became the first sister-brother duo ever to qualify for the respective Candidates.[20]

In December, at the IV El Llobregat Open Tournament 2023 in Spain, Vaishali crossed the 2500 Elo rating threshold, earning her Grandmaster title and becoming the third woman and 84th grandmaster in India.[1][21] She and her younger brother Praggnanandhaa thereby became the world's first sister-brother grandmaster duo.[21]

Awards

Vaishali received Arjuna Award from the President of India on 9 January 2024.[22][23]

References

  1. 1 2 West (NM_Vanessa), Vanessa (2 December 2023). "Vaishali Achieves GM Title". Chess.com. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Vaishali and Praggnanandhaa make history as the first-ever brother-sister duo to become Grandmasters". The Indian Express. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  3. "Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaaa celebrity xyz page". Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  4. The girl who defeated Magnus at the age of 12 | Vaishali Rameshbabu, retrieved 16 October 2023
  5. "Carlsen happy with arrangements for World Championship match". The Times of India. 19 August 2013. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  6. "R. Vaishali becomes Grand Master". 13 August 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  7. "The entire Gold medal winning Indian team from Online Olympiad 2020 interviewed by ChessBase India - ChessBase India". www.chessbase.in. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  8. "The Triumph of the twelve brave Olympians - ChessBase India". www.chessbase.in. 30 August 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  9. "Asian champ Vaishali sets her sight at Grand Master title". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  10. Rao, Rakesh (4 May 2022). "Fischer Memorial: Vaishali makes second GM norm, wins title". Sportstar. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  11. News9 Staff (4 May 2022). "Indian woman grandmaster R Vaishali secures 2nd GM norm by winning Greek chess event". NEWS9LIVE. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. "Vaishali triumphs at 8th Fischer Memorial 2022, scores her second GM-norm - ChessBase India". www.chessbase.in. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  13. Vaishali Rameshbabu Wins Women's Speed Chess Championship Qualifier #2, retrieved 27 September 2023
  14. "FIDE WSCC 2022 Round of 16: Vaishali eliminates World Blitz Women champion Bibisara Assaubayeva - ChessBase India". www.chessbase.in. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  15. "Vaishali R eliminates Dronavalli to reach semifinals". www.fide.com. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  16. West (NM_Vanessa), Vanessa (21 July 2022). "Rising Star Knocks Out Experienced Compatriot". Chess.com. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  17. "Challengers standings". Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  18. 1 2 "Nodirbek Yakubboev wins Qatar Masters in blitz tiebreaks". Chess News. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  19. "Vaishali Wins Women's Grand Swiss, Vidit Also Gets Close To Title Triumph". News18. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  20. 1 2 Sportstar, Team (5 November 2023). "Vaishali draws last round to win FIDE Women Grand Prix 2023". Sportstar. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  21. 1 2 "R Vaishali becomes grandmaster, joins R Praggnanandhaa to become world's first brother-sister GM duo". India Today. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  22. "Sports Ministry confirms Arjuna award for Mohammed Shami; Khel Ratna to Satwik and Chirag - Check full list of winners". Hindustan Times. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  23. "Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 9 January 2024.


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