# Vaishali Rameshbabu
**Vaishali Rameshbabu** (born 2001, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India) is an Indian chess grandmaster, the third woman from India to earn the FIDE grandmaster title and, with her younger brother [R Praggnanandhaa](https://www.edgepedia.org/r-praggnanandhaa), one half of the first brother-sister grandmaster pair in chess history.[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/r-vaishalis-childhood-coaches-reveal-secret-indias-84th-grandmaster-9051784/) • [2](https://en.chessbase.com/newsroom/post/vaishali-rameshbabu-gm-title) She won the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026, earning the right to challenge women's world champion Ju Wenjun for the title.[3](https://elpais.com/deportes/2026-04-15/sindarov-logra-la-mayor-puntuacion-en-la-historia-reciente-del-candidatos.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2001, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; federation India[4](https://www.chess.com/players/vaishali-rameshbabu) |
| Grandmaster title | Earned December 2023 by crossing 2500 Elo at the IV El Llobregat Open, Spain; India's 84th GM and third Indian woman GM[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/r-vaishalis-childhood-coaches-reveal-secret-indias-84th-grandmaster-9051784/) • [5](https://www.chess.com/news/view/vaishali-achieves-gm-title) |
| GM norms | Held four GM norms, one more than the three required, before crossing the rating threshold[2](https://en.chessbase.com/newsroom/post/vaishali-rameshbabu-gm-title) |
| Earlier titles | Woman Grandmaster 2018 (final norm at the Riga Technical University Open); International Master 2021, with four norms where three suffice[4](https://www.chess.com/players/vaishali-rameshbabu) |
| Sibling milestone | With Praggnanandhaa, the first brother and sister both to hold the GM title, and the first siblings to play in Candidates Tournaments, in the same year (2024)[2](https://en.chessbase.com/newsroom/post/vaishali-rameshbabu-gm-title) • [4](https://www.chess.com/players/vaishali-rameshbabu) |
| Candidates 2026 | Won the Women's Candidates in Peyia, Cyprus, with 8.5 points from 14 rounds; will challenge Ju Wenjun for the women's world championship[3](https://elpais.com/deportes/2026-04-15/sindarov-logra-la-mayor-puntuacion-en-la-historia-reciente-del-candidatos.html) |
| Coaches | GM R B Ramesh and Woman Grandmaster Aarthie Ramaswamy, her trainers since she was 13 years old[6](https://www.fide.com/vaishali-rameshbabu-chess-makes-me-happy/) |
## Early life and family
Vaishali was introduced to chess by her father Rameshbabu, himself an avid player, who put her into coaching from the age of five.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/vaishali-rameshbabu-earns-final-grandmaster-norm-at-qatar-masters-2023-8993505/) Her mother, Nagalakshmi, a homemaker, traveled with the children to tournaments.[8](https://epaper.navhindtimes.in/PageImages/pdf/2019/10/27/27102019-md-ga-23.pdf) Her younger brother Praggnanandhaa took up the game at age five to play against her at home; when the two siblings first joined coach R B Ramesh, Vaishali was a few hundred rating points ahead of her brother.[9](https://apnews.com/article/443ccc8aab65fc67fac4094e2e82b2b2) • [10](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/after-pragg-his-sister-moves-to-challenge-world-chess-champion-9018069/lite/)
Her first coach, Thyagarajan, recalled that as a seven-year-old she could sit at the chessboard for hours with what he described as monk-like discipline, and predicted before she turned 10 that she would rule chess in India.[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/r-vaishalis-childhood-coaches-reveal-secret-indias-84th-grandmaster-9051784/) Ramesh, who has mentored both siblings since Vaishali was 13 and Praggnanandhaa was nine, said what stood out about the two was that they never got bored of chess.[6](https://www.fide.com/vaishali-rameshbabu-chess-makes-me-happy/) • [1](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/r-vaishalis-childhood-coaches-reveal-secret-indias-84th-grandmaster-9051784/)
As a junior she won the Girls Under-12 world youth title in 2012 and the Girls Under-14 in 2015, and also took the Asian Youth Championship in the under-14 girls' category in 2015.[4](https://www.chess.com/players/vaishali-rameshbabu) • [7](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/vaishali-rameshbabu-earns-final-grandmaster-norm-at-qatar-masters-2023-8993505/) At age 12, with a FIDE rating of about 2000, she won her game against world champion-to-be [Magnus Carlsen](https://www.edgepedia.org/magnus-carlsen) in a simultaneous exhibition.[4](https://www.chess.com/players/vaishali-rameshbabu)
## Climb through the titles
Vaishali earned the Woman Grandmaster title in 2018, completing her final norm at the Riga Technical University Open. Her International Master title followed in 2021; she accumulated four IM norms, two of them in quick succession in July and August of that year, where only three are required.[4](https://www.chess.com/players/vaishali-rameshbabu)
The grandmaster title required three norms plus a 2500 rating. Her third and final GM norm came at the Qatar Masters 2023, where she scored 5/9, finished as the best women's player, and won the women's prize despite losing her last-round game to GM Gregory Kaidanov.[7](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/vaishali-rameshbabu-earns-final-grandmaster-norm-at-qatar-masters-2023-8993505/) • [4](https://www.chess.com/players/vaishali-rameshbabu) In fact she had banked four norms by the end.[2](https://en.chessbase.com/newsroom/post/vaishali-rameshbabu-gm-title) On 1 December 2023, at the IV El Llobregat Open in Spain, she defeated FM Tamer Selbes and crossed the 2500 mark, completing the title.[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/r-vaishalis-childhood-coaches-reveal-secret-indias-84th-grandmaster-9051784/) • [5](https://www.chess.com/news/view/vaishali-achieves-gm-title) She became India's 84th grandmaster overall and the third Indian woman to hold the title, after [Koneru Humpy](https://www.edgepedia.org/koneru-humpy), who earned it in 2002 at age 15, and Harika Dronavalli, who did so in 2011 at age 20; the previous Indian woman grandmaster had been crowned twelve years earlier.[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/r-vaishalis-childhood-coaches-reveal-secret-indias-84th-grandmaster-9051784/) • [7](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/vaishali-rameshbabu-earns-final-grandmaster-norm-at-qatar-masters-2023-8993505/)
Because Praggnanandhaa was already a grandmaster, the Chennai siblings became the first brother-sister grandmaster duo in history.[2](https://en.chessbase.com/newsroom/post/vaishali-rameshbabu-gm-title)
## Candidates cycles and the world championship
**Grand Swiss 2023.** Shortly before completing her GM title, Vaishali won the 2023 FIDE Women's Grand Swiss with 8.5/11, qualifying for the 2024 [Candidates Tournament](https://www.edgepedia.org/candidates-tournament) months after her brother qualified through the 2023 World Cup. They were the first sister-brother pair to reach a Candidates, let alone in the same year.[4](https://www.chess.com/players/vaishali-rameshbabu) At the 2024 Candidates in Toronto, seeded only seventh of eight, she tied for second place with six wins, five losses, and three draws.[4](https://www.chess.com/players/vaishali-rameshbabu) Later in 2024 she played second board for India at the 45th [Chess Olympiad](https://www.edgepedia.org/chess-olympiad) and won gold.[4](https://www.chess.com/players/vaishali-rameshbabu)
**Grand Swiss 2025 and Candidates 2026.** At the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss in [Samarkand](https://www.edgepedia.org/samarkand), Vaishali and [Kateryna Lagno](https://www.edgepedia.org/kateryna-lagno) tied for first on 8/11 in the women's event, with Vaishali taking the top spot on tiebreak; both qualified for the Candidates.[11](https://www.fide.com/final-round-drama-at-grand-swiss-in-samarkand-giri-triumphs-vaishali-makes-history/) At the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 in Peyia, Cyprus, she won the final round against Lagno with the black pieces in a Sicilian Dragon and finished first on 8.5 points, half a point ahead of Bibisara Assaubayeva.[3](https://elpais.com/deportes/2026-04-15/sindarov-logra-la-mayor-puntuacion-en-la-historia-reciente-del-candidatos.html) • [6](https://www.fide.com/vaishali-rameshbabu-chess-makes-me-happy/) The victory made her the first Indian woman to win a Women's Candidates Tournament and set up a world championship match against Ju Wenjun, a five-time women's world champion against whom Vaishali had played four classical games in Norway in 2024 and 2025, drawing three and losing one.[6](https://www.fide.com/vaishali-rameshbabu-chess-makes-me-happy/)
## Playing style and support team
Her brother has described a contrast in approach: he focuses on the technical side of a game while Vaishali goes on the attack, and the two say there is no sibling rivalry between them.[12](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/praggnanandhaa-sibling-rivalry-sister-vaishali-10269289/lite/) Vaishali herself identifies consistency as the quality she works on, since her games can fluctuate, and she has worked with a psychologist for roughly the eight or nine months before the 2026 Candidates to manage tournament pressure.[6](https://www.fide.com/vaishali-rameshbabu-chess-makes-me-happy/) Her long-term trainers, R B Ramesh and Aarthie Ramaswamy, plan her camps and schedule, and she credits her mother and Praggnanandhaa with helping her cope with the pressure of leading the Candidates field.[6](https://www.fide.com/vaishali-rameshbabu-chess-makes-me-happy/)
## References
1. [Amit Kamath, "Even before she was 10 years old, R Vaishali's childhood coach predicted she would rule chess in India", The Indian Express, 2 December 2023](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/r-vaishalis-childhood-coaches-reveal-secret-indias-84th-grandmaster-9051784/)
2. [Shahid Ahmed, "The path to GM: Vaishali's steady ascent", ChessBase, 3 December 2023](https://en.chessbase.com/newsroom/post/vaishali-rameshbabu-gm-title)
3. [Leontxo García, "Sindárov logra la mayor puntuación en la historia reciente del Candidatos", El País, 15 April 2026](https://elpais.com/deportes/2026-04-15/sindarov-logra-la-mayor-puntuacion-en-la-historia-reciente-del-candidatos.html)
4. ["Vaishali R", Top Chess Players profile, Chess.com](https://www.chess.com/players/vaishali-rameshbabu)
5. ["Vaishali Achieves GM Title", Chess.com News](https://www.chess.com/news/view/vaishali-achieves-gm-title)
6. [Charlize van Zyl, "Vaishali Rameshbabu: 'Chess makes me happy'", FIDE, 22 April 2026](https://www.fide.com/vaishali-rameshbabu-chess-makes-me-happy/)
7. [Anil Dias, "Vaishali Rameshbabu a handful of points away from becoming third female Grandmaster from India after Qatar Masters heroics", The Indian Express, 21 October 2023](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/vaishali-rameshbabu-earns-final-grandmaster-norm-at-qatar-masters-2023-8993505/)
8. ["Sunday Magazine", Navhind Times, 27 October 2019](https://epaper.navhindtimes.in/PageImages/pdf/2019/10/27/27102019-md-ga-23.pdf)
9. ["Praggnanandhaa looks to achieve the No. 1 chess ranking to add to India's dominance", AP News](https://apnews.com/article/443ccc8aab65fc67fac4094e2e82b2b2)
10. ["After R Praggnanandhaa, his sister Vaishali moves to challenge world chess champion", The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/after-pragg-his-sister-moves-to-challenge-world-chess-champion-9018069/lite/)
11. ["Final round drama at Grand Swiss in Samarkand: Giri triumphs, Vaishali makes history", FIDE](https://www.fide.com/final-round-drama-at-grand-swiss-in-samarkand-giri-triumphs-vaishali-makes-history/)
12. ["R Praggnanandhaa says there is no sibling rivalry with sister Vaishali R", The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/praggnanandhaa-sibling-rivalry-sister-vaishali-10269289/lite/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Board, card, and puzzle games › Chess › Chess players › 21st-century chess players*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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