Who Is Vaishali Rameshbabu, Indian Grandmaster Who Won Second Consecutive FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Title?
Vaishali Rameshbabu, sister of Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa, has carved her own path by winning the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss for a second time in a row.
Grandmaster Vaishali has etched her name in chess history by clinching the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss 2025 title, becoming the first player in the event’s history to win it twice. The 24-year-old secured the title for a second time in a row on Sept. 15, after drawing her final game against former women’s world champion Tan Zhongyi.
This triumph has also earned her a place in the 2026 Women’s Candidates Tournament, a step toward competing for the World Championship. It makes Vaishali one of three Indian players, alongside Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy, to qualify for the Candidates.
Siblings On A Checkmating Streak
Vaishali is the older sister of Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa. They are the first brother-sister duo to achieve the GM title. In a conversation with NDTV, Vaishali said her brother has played a major role in shaping her chess career. She said she had managed to defeat him several times in practice games.
Rankings And Titles
According to FIDE, Vaishali is ranked 993rd among active players worldwide and 1,514th overall. Within India, she is placed 69th among active players and 80th overall.
Vaishali first became a Woman FIDE Master (WFM) in 2013 and a Woman International Master (WIM) in 2016. She went on to earn the Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title in 2018 and the International Master (IM) title in 2021. In 2024, she achieved the Grandmaster (GM) title.
Career And Breakthrough Moments
According to chess.com, Vaishali was a two-time youth champion, winning the Girls Under-12 title in 2012 and the Girls Under-14 crown in 2015. At 12, with a FIDE rating of about 2000, she defeated then-world champion-to-be Magnus Carlsen in a simultaneous exhibition. She went on to achieve her WGM title in 2018, completing her final norm at the Riga Technical University Open.
Vaishali earned her International Master title in 2021, collecting four IM norms, one more than required, after rapidly scoring two in July and August that year. In the Women’s Speed Chess Championship (WSCC), she finished eighth in 2020. She returned in 2022 to reach the semifinals, according to chess.com.
Major Wins And The Road To Grandmaster
She won the 2023 FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss with 8.5/11, qualifying for the 2024 Candidates, just months after her brother qualified at the 2023 FIDE World Cup, as per chess.com. They became the first brother-sister pair ever to reach the Candidates in the same year.
In 2023, at the Qatar Masters Open, Vaishali scored 5/9, capturing the women’s prize and earning her final GM norm. By the end of the Grand Swiss, she needed just three rating points to complete the Grandmaster title, which she secured at the Llobregat Open in Spain on Dec. 1, 2023.
Despite being only the seventh-highest rated player at the 2024 Candidates, she played attacking chess and finished tied for second, as reported by chess.com. Later that year, she played second board for India at the 45th Chess Olympiad, winning gold.
PM Lauds Win
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Vaishali on her historic victory. “Outstanding accomplishment. Congrats to Vaishali Rameshbabu. Her passion and dedication are exemplary. Best wishes for her future endeavours,” PM Modi wrote in a post on X.
Super Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand congratulated Vaishali, praised her “determination and hard work,” and said, “To win the @FIDE_chess Grand Swiss twice is an achievement that few can attain.”
New Chapter In Indian Chess
Vaishali’s rise, marked by her Grand Swiss double and her march through the FIDE titles, signals a new era for Indian chess. Her success, combined with the parallel achievements of her brother Praggnanandhaa, places the sibling duo among the most promising talents in global chess today.
