Indian chess star GM R Vaishali has as soon as once more etched her identify into the document books by defending her FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss title in 2025, sealing direct qualification for the distinguished Candidates 2026 match. The 24-year-old drew her final-round conflict towards China’s Tan Zhongyi to end with 8 factors from 11 rounds, sufficient to clinch the crown for a second consecutive 12 months.With this victory, Vaishali has now turn into the third Indian girl to qualify for the 2026 Candidates, becoming a member of Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh. While Humpy and Divya booked their locations by way of the FIDE Women’s World Cup earlier, Vaishali has completed so by showcasing exceptional consistency on the Grand Swiss stage.Reflecting on her journey, Vaishali admitted that her path to this triumph was removed from simple. “I had a tough tournament in Chennai Grand Masters. After Chennai, I decided against participating in the Grand Swiss. I lost seven games in a row, it was hard for me. In the last few weeks, I tried to change a lot of things. The Chennai Grand Masters results were too much for me to take. However, in a way, this Chennai experience is the reason I won the tournament,” she informed ChessBase India after her closing recreation.This will probably be Vaishali’s second look within the Women’s Candidates, confirming her rise as some of the constant performers on the world stage. Though she has but to map out her aggressive calendar, she hinted at taking time to plan fastidiously. “I’ve not planned any tournament yet. I will have to see what to do,” she added.Vaishali’s qualification ensures that India may have at the very least three robust representatives within the Candidates, a landmark second for Indian ladies’s chess. For a nation that has lengthy celebrated Viswanathan Anand’s affect on the game, the emergence of Vaishali, Humpy, and Divya marks a brand new period of dominance in ladies’s chess.
