Chess: Vaishali Rameshbabu joins brother R Praggnanandhaa in unique list with Grandmaster title

Vaishali Rameshbabu created history on Friday by becoming only the third Indian female after Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli to claim the coveted Grandmaster title. Vaishali crossed the required 2500 FIDE ratings at the IV El Llobregat Open held in Spain on Friday to stand tall. With this win, Vaishali joined her brother R Praggnanandhaa to become the first-ever brother-sister duo to become Grandmasters in chess.

Vaishali, 22, beat Turkish FM Tamer Tarik Selbes (2238) in the second round to attain the ratings. She started the competition with successive wins.

“I am very happy to have finally completed the title. It’s just two rounds. I am also focusing on the tournament. But I am really happy with the GM title,” Vaishali told Chess.com.

Though she sounded elated to realise her dream of becoming a Grandmaster, Vaishali admitted her game was not up to the mark but she somehow managed to win.

“I’ve finally achieved a goal of mine since I started playing chess. I was so close to it, so, I was really excited, but there was some pressure as well. My game was not so good in the middle, but somehow, I managed to win.

“I have qualified for the candidates and hopefully win this tournament,” the newest Indian Grandmaster said.

Meanwhile, this title win helped her enter history books as she, alongside her younger brother, R Praggnanandhaa, became the first-ever siblings pair to become candidates.

Vaishali’s journey to the top

Much like her younger brother, who raced to fame quite early, Vaishali had started playing chess at the tender age of five. Progressing quickly, she won several state and national-level competitions in her state category growing up.

Her father, Rameshbabu, an avid chess player, got his children to train under Grandmaster RB Ramesh.

“Both of them were already practising six to eight hours a day back when I started working with them. They were very hardworking, not to mention ambitious. She was a better player back then, older with a higher rating. But a few years on, Pragg made rapid growth and overtook her,” Ramesh told The Indian Express.

Vaishali’s breakthrough came during the 2015 Asian Youth Chess Championships, where she won in the under-14 girls’ category, receiving the title of International Master (IM).

Though she might have taken a few more years than her brother to stamp her authority at the top level, Vaishali is no short of skill and calibre and aims to reach the pinnacle of this sport.