India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu scripted history on late Wednesday (April 15) evening as she won the 2026 FIDE Women's Candidates by beating Kateryna Lagno of Russia. Held in Cyprus, Vaishali becomes the first Indian woman to win The Candidates and will join hands with her brother Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in the World Championships. The win for Vaishali sees her qualify for the Chess’s apex tournament, which will be held later in the year and will face China’s Ju Wenjun.<h2>Vaishali scripts history</h2>In an historic day for Indian sports, Vaishali beat Kateryna Lagno to script history. Six players were still in the race for first place heading into the final round, with Vaishali and Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva tied on 7.5 points. Vaishali finished on 8.5 and will now contest for the FIDE World Championships later in the year. Vaishali was the second-lowest of the eight players who entered the Candidates tournament.&nbsp;ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/from-cameron-green-to-liam-livingstone-5-most-expensive-players-in-ipl-2026-auctions-matheesha-pathirana-kartik-sharma-prashant-veer-1774031148132">From Cameron Green to Liam Livingstone, 5 most expensive players in IPL 2026 auctions</a>&nbsp;Despite defeat against Zhu Jiner, Vaishali held her nerves to win the tournament. Instead of sliding after a single loss, Vaishali went into overdrive after that loss to Zhu. Between rounds 6 and 11, she took four wins and two draws. It was a run that gave her a one-point lead at the top of the Candidates.&nbsp;The 24-year-old grandmaster ended the 14-game tournament with five wins and two losses, finishing half a point ahead of Assaubayeva, who drew her final game against India’s Divya Deshmukh.&nbsp;ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/from-rohit-sharma-to-sanju-samson-5-highest-individual-score-in-a-lost-chase-in-ipl-yusuf-pathan-kl-rahul-shaun-marsh-ipl-2026-1774084136030">From Rohit Sharma to Sanju Samson, 5 highest individual scores in a lost chase in IPL</a><h2>Vaishali to face Ju Wenjun</h2>Ju has held the World Championships since 2018 after defeating fellow Chinese grandmaster Tan Zhongyi. She has since defended her crown successfully on multiple occasions, beating Kateryna Lagno in 2018, Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina in 2020, China’s Lei Tingjie in 2023, and Tan in 2025.&nbsp;Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov clinched victory in the open category with a round to spare, winning six of his 13 matches and losing none to set up a World Championship match against India's Gukesh Dommaraju.

Held in Cyprus, Vaishali becomes the first Indian woman to win The Candidates and will join hands with her brother Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in the World Championships. 

India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu scripted history on late Wednesday (April 15) evening as she won the 2026 FIDE Women's Candidates by beating Kateryna Lagno of Russia. Held in Cyprus, Vaishali becomes the first Indian woman to win The Candidates and will join hands with her brother Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in the World Championships. The win for Vaishali sees her qualify for the Chess’s apex tournament, which will be held later in the year and will face China’s Ju Wenjun. Vaishali scripts history In an historic day for Indian sports, Vaishali beat Kateryna Lagno to script history. Six players were still in the race for first place heading into the final round, with Vaishali and Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva tied on 7.5 points. Vaishali finished on 8.5 and will now contest for the FIDE World Championships later in the year. Vaishali was the second-lowest of the eight players who entered the Candidates tournament. ALSO READ | From Cameron Green to Liam Livingstone, 5 most expensive players in IPL 2026 auctions Despite defeat against Zhu Jiner, Vaishali held her nerves to win the tournament. Instead of sliding after a single loss, Vaishali went into overdrive after that loss to Zhu. Between rounds 6 and 11, she took four wins and two draws. It was a run that gave her a one-point lead at the top of the Candidates. The 24-year-old grandmaster ended the 14-game tournament with five wins and two losses, finishing half a point ahead of Assaubayeva, who drew her final game against India’s Divya Deshmukh. ALSO READ | From Rohit Sharma to Sanju Samson, 5 highest individual scores in a lost chase in IPL Vaishali to face Ju Wenjun Ju has held the World Championships since 2018 after defeating fellow Chinese grandmaster Tan Zhongyi. She has since defended her crown successfully on multiple occasions, beating Kateryna Lagno in 2018, Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina in 2020, China’s Lei Tingjie in 2023, and Tan in 2025. Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov clinched victory in the open category with a round to spare, winning six of his 13 matches and losing none to set up a World Championship match against India's Gukesh Dommaraju.

Held in Cyprus, Vaishali becomes the first Indian woman to win The Candidates and will join hands with her brother Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in the World Championships.&nbsp;

India's Vaishali Rameshbabu scripts history, beats Kateryna Lagno to win 2026 FIDE Women's Candidates

"2022 has been an extraordinary year for Indian Chess, as the country has 77 Grandmasters, a lot of whom are from Chennai" said Indian Chess Legend Vishwanathan Anand. To earn the Grandmaster title, one has to secure three Grandmaster norms and surpass 2500 ELO points marks. Anand recalled how&nbsp;India hosted 1700 top players from across 185 nations, as part of the 44th&nbsp;FIDE International Chess Olympiad held in Chennai, earlier this year. Anand was speaking at an event organized by the Tamil Nadu Government, where it was announced that corporates and individual donors could adopt and maintain Government-run schools, as part of the "Namma School"(Our School) initiative.&nbsp;

ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022-may-have-lost-many-battles-but-won-the-war-544566">FIFA World Cup: Qatar 2022 may have lost many battles but won the war</a>

As the brand ambassador for the cause, Anand said that building confidence among school students requires enormous investment of providing education, exposure, nutritious meals, sports activities, infrastructure etc. He said that the Government alone cannot develop schools on its own and urged alumni of Government schools and global diaspora to join hands and make a difference. "As in Chess, let our youth excel in every walk of life" Anand said from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India's Chess capital.&nbsp;

According to the Tamil Nadu Government, donors and companies willing to donate to Government schools can access a state-wide database that covers nearly 38,000 schools. Donors can either adopt the entire school or take care of specific needs such as computers, infrastructure, furniture etc, as per the requirements of the school, highlighted in the database. They said that the before and after pictures of the work carried out with donor funds would also be updated on the 'Namma School' portal.&nbsp;

On the occasion of the launch of this initiative, leading corporates and individuals from Tamil Nadu donated more than Rs.50cr or $6.04million. The initiative was launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and senior Government officials.

"2022 has been an extraordinary year for Indian Chess, as the country has 77 Grandmasters, a lot of whom are from Chennai" said Indian Chess Legend Vishwanathan Anand.

"2022 has been an extraordinary year for Indian Chess, as the country has 77 Grandmasters, a lot of whom are from Chennai" said Indian Chess Legend Vishwanathan Anand. To earn the Grandmaster title, one has to secure three Grandmaster norms and surpass 2500 ELO points marks. Anand recalled how India hosted 1700 top players from across 185 nations, as part of the 44th FIDE International Chess Olympiad held in Chennai, earlier this year. Anand was speaking at an event organized by the Tamil Nadu Government, where it was announced that corporates and individual donors could adopt and maintain Government-run schools, as part of the "Namma School"(Our School) initiative. ALSO READ: FIFA World Cup: Qatar 2022 may have lost many battles but won the war As the brand ambassador for the cause, Anand said that building confidence among school students requires enormous investment of providing education, exposure, nutritious meals, sports activities, infrastructure etc. He said that the Government alone cannot develop schools on its own and urged alumni of Government schools and global diaspora to join hands and make a difference. "As in Chess, let our youth excel in every walk of life" Anand said from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India's Chess capital. According to the Tamil Nadu Government, donors and companies willing to donate to Government schools can access a state-wide database that covers nearly 38,000 schools. Donors can either adopt the entire school or take care of specific needs such as computers, infrastructure, furniture etc, as per the requirements of the school, highlighted in the database. They said that the before and after pictures of the work carried out with donor funds would also be updated on the 'Namma School' portal. On the occasion of the launch of this initiative, leading corporates and individuals from Tamil Nadu donated more than Rs.50cr or $6.04million. The initiative was launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and senior Government officials.

With 77 Grandmasters, 2022 an extraordinary year for Indian chess, says Vishwanathan Anand

India and Russia are declared joint winners of FIDE (The Fédération Internationale des Échecs) Chess Olympiad. This is for the first time Chess Olympiad held in an online format by FIDE.

India was initially declared to have lost the final round but it lodged an appeal saying their players lost internet connection due to a server failure. The decision was then reversed.

This was the first time that India reached the finals of the FIDE Chess Olympiad.

India's best finish at the Olympiad had come in 2014 when the contingent returned with a bronze medal.

The first round of the final between India and Russia finished as 3-3 draw after all six games finished in six draws.

Russia started the match against India as favourites after having their average rating of 12 players (2519) higher than India (2419).

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🇷🇺 Russia and India 🇮🇳 are co-champions of the first-ever FIDE Online <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChessOlympiad?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChessOlympiad</a>. 
 
Tournament's website: <a href="https://t.co/bIcj0hRMek">https://t.co/bIcj0hRMek</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/chess?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#chess</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndianChess?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IndianChess</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D1%88%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8B?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#шахматы</a> <a href="https://t.co/gP4sULP2kr">pic.twitter.com/gP4sULP2kr</a>
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIDE_chess/status/1300074799469821952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2020</a></blockquote>
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We are the champions !! Congrats Russia!
— Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) <a href="https://twitter.com/vishy64theking/status/1300070069431496705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The second round witnessed high drama as two Indian players — Sarin and Deshmukh — lost connection to their games and had to forfeit, following which India filed an official appeal for a consequent investigation.

FIDE President A. Dvorkovich sat out the appeal, as he represented Russia.

IO M.Khodarkovsky (USA) and IA Sava Stoisavljevic (Serbia) were tasked with issuing a verdict.&nbsp;

It was declared that both India and Russia will be joint winners of the competition.&nbsp;

(With inputs from ANI)

India and Russia are declared joint winners of FIDE (The Fédération Internationale des Échecs) Chess Olympiad. This is for the first time Chess Olympiad held in an online format by FIDE.

India and Russia are declared joint winners of FIDE (The Fédération Internationale des Échecs) Chess Olympiad. This is for the first time Chess Olympiad held in an online format by FIDE. India was initially declared to have lost the final round but it lodged an appeal saying their players lost internet connection due to a server failure. The decision was then reversed. This was the first time that India reached the finals of the FIDE Chess Olympiad. India's best finish at the Olympiad had come in 2014 when the contingent returned with a bronze medal. The first round of the final between India and Russia finished as 3-3 draw after all six games finished in six draws. Russia started the match against India as favourites after having their average rating of 12 players (2519) higher than India (2419). 🇷🇺 Russia and India 🇮🇳 are co-champions of the first-ever FIDE Online #ChessOlympiad. Tournament's website: https://t.co/bIcj0hRMek#chess #IndianChess #шахматы pic.twitter.com/gP4sULP2kr — International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) August 30, 2020 × We are the champions !! Congrats Russia! — Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) August 30, 2020 × The second round witnessed high drama as two Indian players — Sarin and Deshmukh — lost connection to their games and had to forfeit, following which India filed an official appeal for a consequent investigation. FIDE President A. Dvorkovich sat out the appeal, as he represented Russia. IO M.Khodarkovsky (USA) and IA Sava Stoisavljevic (Serbia) were tasked with issuing a verdict. It was declared that both India and Russia will be joint winners of the competition. (With inputs from ANI)

India and Russia declared joint winners of FIDE Chess Olympiad after a dramatic final

Fifth-seeded Ukrainian Grand Master (GM)&nbsp;Vitaliy Bernadskiy joined compatriot GM&nbsp;Valeriy Neverov in the lead after six rounds in the Open category of the 2nd IIFL Wealth Mumbai International Chess Tournament here today.

While Neverov drew his game against India&#39;s 18-year-old talent GM&nbsp;Diptayan Ghosh, Bernadskiy beat India&#39;s International Master (IM) P Shyaamnikhil with the white pieces.

Neverov chose to play a Catalan against Ghosh, where black got a chance to repeat the position thrice early in the opening, which resulted&nbsp;in a draw. The position after 12 moves has been witnessed in 2,000 games. 
Ghosh saw no reason to push with the black pieces during the game and decided that he should repeat the position.

Bernadskiy unleashed a Symmetrical English and slowly outplayed the Tamil Nadu international master Shyaamnikhil in the middle game and endgame.

The Tamil Nadu youngster Tarun V Kanth delivered yet another good performance to hold IM Sayantan Das, who is rated approximately 400 points above the former.

The 14-year-old Tarun thus remains part of a group of seven players pursuing the leaders in the second place with 5.0 out of 6 points.

In the Juniors section, the leader, Maharashtra&#39;s Sankarsha Shelke settled for a draw, with the third seed Aronyak Ghosh of West Bengal.

This allowed Pranav V of Tamil Nadu to beat Dhanush Ragav to join Sankarsha in the lead. After seven rounds, both Sankarsha and Pranav lead the tournament with 6.5 out of 7 points.

(PTI)

While Neverov drew his game against India's 18-year-old GM?Diptayan Ghosh, Bernadskiy beat India's IM P Shyaamnikhil

Fifth-seeded Ukrainian Grand Master (GM) Vitaliy Bernadskiy joined compatriot GM Valeriy Neverov in the lead after six rounds in the Open category of the 2nd IIFL Wealth Mumbai International Chess Tournament here today. While Neverov drew his game against India's 18-year-old talent GM Diptayan Ghosh, Bernadskiy beat India's International Master (IM) P Shyaamnikhil with the white pieces. Neverov chose to play a Catalan against Ghosh, where black got a chance to repeat the position thrice early in the opening, which resulted in a draw. The position after 12 moves has been witnessed in 2,000 games. Ghosh saw no reason to push with the black pieces during the game and decided that he should repeat the position. Bernadskiy unleashed a Symmetrical English and slowly outplayed the Tamil Nadu international master Shyaamnikhil in the middle game and endgame. The Tamil Nadu youngster Tarun V Kanth delivered yet another good performance to hold IM Sayantan Das, who is rated approximately 400 points above the former. The 14-year-old Tarun thus remains part of a group of seven players pursuing the leaders in the second place with 5.0 out of 6 points. In the Juniors section, the leader, Maharashtra's Sankarsha Shelke settled for a draw, with the third seed Aronyak Ghosh of West Bengal. This allowed Pranav V of Tamil Nadu to beat Dhanush Ragav to join Sankarsha in the lead. After seven rounds, both Sankarsha and Pranav lead the tournament with 6.5 out of 7 points. (PTI)

Ukrainian GM Bernadskiy joins Neverov in lead at intl Mumbai chess tournament

Viswanathan Anand played out a draw with long-time rival Vladimir Kramnik of Russia to end the London Chess Classic with a shared third result after the end of the ninth and final round here.

The highlights of Anand&#39;s campaign were the innovative ideas he displayed, while the lone low point was the defeat against Hikaru Nakamura in the third round. Anand remained the biggest star if the fan following was anything to go by.

Wesley So of the United States expectedly won the tournament with an easy draw with white pieces against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France in the final round.

The Filipino turned American ended up with six points out of a possible nine and remained a half point ahead of second placed compatriot Fabiano Caruana who also played a draw with Anish Giri of Holland.

Anand, Hikaru Nakamura of the United States and Kramnik tied for the third spot on five points apiece and it&#39;s almost a certainty now that the Indian ace will get a call back for the next year of the Grand Chess tour which will have a new event added to the existing four.

Wesley So couldn&#39;t have wished for a better first appearance in London. His phenomenal debut brought him both the tournament victory worth $75,000 and, more importantly, a win in the Grand Chess Tour worth $100,000.

&quot;This is definitely my best achievement ever,&quot; So said. Anand was all praise for the new star in world chess.

&quot;I guess the word that comes to my mind is effortless,&quot; he said, adding, &quot;It really looks effortless. He doesn&#39;t even seem to be trying very hard. He&#39;s been undefeated for so long. I&#39;m very impressed by how easy he makes it seem.&quot;

Anand played white and opened with the queen pawn that did not give him many chances as Kramnik was well armed. The result was a quick draw when Anand decided there was not much left to play for.

The Indian was in fine fettle throughout the tournament and has every chance to be among the top eight that gives a chance to make to next world championship.

&quot;I&#39;m definitely going to play in the World Cup, that&#39;s my main chance to qualify for the Candidates&#39;. In the mean time, I&#39;m very excited to be in the Tour so definitely my ambitions are quite high. I&#39;m going to play a lot of chess, and I&#39;m going to enjoy it as well,&quot; said Anand on his plans for the future.

Results final round: V Anand (Ind, 5) drew with Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 5); Wesley So (Usa, 6) drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 4); Levon Aronian (Arm, 4) lost to Veselin Topalov (Bul, 2); Anish Giri (Ned, 4.5) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 5.5); Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 5) drew with Michale Adams (Eng, 4).

(PTI)

Wesley So of the US unexpectedly won the tournament with an easy draw with white pieces against France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Viswanathan Anand played out a draw with long-time rival Vladimir Kramnik of Russia to end the London Chess Classic with a shared third result after the end of the ninth and final round here. The highlights of Anand's campaign were the innovative ideas he displayed, while the lone low point was the defeat against Hikaru Nakamura in the third round. Anand remained the biggest star if the fan following was anything to go by. Wesley So of the United States expectedly won the tournament with an easy draw with white pieces against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France in the final round. The Filipino turned American ended up with six points out of a possible nine and remained a half point ahead of second placed compatriot Fabiano Caruana who also played a draw with Anish Giri of Holland. Anand, Hikaru Nakamura of the United States and Kramnik tied for the third spot on five points apiece and it's almost a certainty now that the Indian ace will get a call back for the next year of the Grand Chess tour which will have a new event added to the existing four. Wesley So couldn't have wished for a better first appearance in London. His phenomenal debut brought him both the tournament victory worth $75,000 and, more importantly, a win in the Grand Chess Tour worth $100,000. "This is definitely my best achievement ever," So said. Anand was all praise for the new star in world chess. "I guess the word that comes to my mind is effortless," he said, adding, "It really looks effortless. He doesn't even seem to be trying very hard. He's been undefeated for so long. I'm very impressed by how easy he makes it seem." Anand played white and opened with the queen pawn that did not give him many chances as Kramnik was well armed. The result was a quick draw when Anand decided there was not much left to play for. The Indian was in fine fettle throughout the tournament and has every chance to be among the top eight that gives a chance to make to next world championship. "I'm definitely going to play in the World Cup, that's my main chance to qualify for the Candidates'. In the mean time, I'm very excited to be in the Tour so definitely my ambitions are quite high. I'm going to play a lot of chess, and I'm going to enjoy it as well," said Anand on his plans for the future. Results final round: V Anand (Ind, 5) drew with Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 5); Wesley So (Usa, 6) drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 4); Levon Aronian (Arm, 4) lost to Veselin Topalov (Bul, 2); Anish Giri (Ned, 4.5) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 5.5); Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 5) drew with Michale Adams (Eng, 4). (PTI)

Viswanathan Anand joint third in London Classic, ties Kramnik

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India's Vaishali Rameshbabu scripts history, beats Kateryna Lagno to win 2026 FIDE Women's Candidates

With 77 Grandmasters, 2022 an extraordinary year for Indian chess, says Vishwanathan Anand

India and Russia declared joint winners of FIDE Chess Olympiad after a dramatic final

Ukrainian GM Bernadskiy joins Neverov in lead at intl Mumbai chess tournament

Viswanathan Anand joint third in London Classic, ties Kramnik