On an evening where everything she wanted fell in place, India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu finally emerged from the shadows of her prodigal brother Praggnanandhaa to become the first Indian to lift the 2026 FIDE Women’s Candidates in Cyprus.
As fellow countrywoman Divya Deshmukh held joint leader Bibisara Assaubayeva to a draw in the final round, Vaishali played her part to perfection, outplaying Kateryna Lagno to secure a win on demand and secure the title with 8.5 points.
Vaishali, the lowest rated player entering into the eight-woman tournament, overcame a shaky start to hold her own when barely anyone expected her to earn a shot at the FIDE Women’s World Championship crown against China’s Ju Wenjun.
She sacrificed pieces, rode her luck, and won games which she termed “horrible and didn’t deserve to win,” during the tournament.
“The first half of the tournament was super shaky,” a relieved Vaishali said in the press conference after her title win. “I was scoring points by luck.
“But I kept getting better in the second half as we progressed,” she added.
The 24-year-old Grandmaster had no wins to show for after the first five rounds. She started the competition with four draws and lost her fifth round game before bouncing back with two successive wins against Lagno and Tan Zhongyi at the half-way stage of the tournament.
The bounce back was reminiscent of Vaishali’s run at her debut Women’s Candidates two years ago in Toronto, where she had three losses and four draws at the half-way stage. She had later turned up the heat in the second half with five consecutive wins, to finish joint second with 7.5 points.
“It’s too much of a generalisation,” long time coach Ramesh RB told Readwhen asked if it was a clear pattern in her game.
Vaishali entered the tournament on the back of some solid preparation even off the board. The preceding year wasn’t the best for her, with only the Grand Swiss win which propelled her into the Candidates the only notable result.
At a point when she was at her worst, Vaishali turned to yoga and meditation on the nudge of coach Ramesh.
“She has been doing quite a bit of yoga and meditation, which has certainly helped her in getting calmer,” the coach noted.
It was the yoga, meditation combined with the work she’s done with a sports psychologist which helped her keep emotions in check under pressure even as she had to play on for almost an hour as Lagno kept playing on despite being in an inferior position in the final round.
Vaishali has long fielded questions on being the second best chess player in the family, behind brother Praggnanandhaa. On the night she etched herself into the annals of Indian sports history, that question, hopefully, was put to rest once and for all.
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