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Vaishali wins FIDE Women's Grand Swiss 2025 title
She becomes the third Indian player to qualify for the forthcoming Women’s Candidates.
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Bhavana P - Mon, 15, Sep 2025
- 16:57 EDT
- 11
Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali / Michal Walusza/ FIDE
Indian chess player R Vaishali won the 2025 FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss title on Sept.15, securing her place in the 2026 FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament.
The Chennai-based Grandmaster finished with eight points from eleven rounds, topping the field after a tense final-round encounter against former world champion Tan Zhongyi of China.
Also read: Indian American teen scripts chess history with win over Gukesh
The 23-year-old prevailed on tiebreaks to take first place ahead of Russian Grandmaster Kateryna Lagno.
In the decisive final round, Vaishali faced former world champion Tan Zhongyi of China. Although she was placed under pressure and found herself a pawn down, she demonstrated resilience to hold the game to a draw. The half-point ensured her overall tournament victory, marking her second successive Grand Swiss title.
By virtue of this win, Vaishali becomes the third Indian player to qualify for the forthcoming Women’s Candidates, joining Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh, who had earlier secured their places through the Women’s World Cup. This development guarantees India its strongest representation to date in the premier qualifying event for the Women’s World Championship.
The FIDE Grand Swiss, conducted in Samarkand from September 4–15, offered two qualification spots each in the Open and Women’s sections. In the Women’s event, Vaishali and Lagno emerged as the successful qualifiers.
In the Open section, Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri secured first place with eight points, while Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum, finishing on 7.5 points with the best tiebreaks, claimed the second berth.
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