Grand Master Vaishali Rameshbabu won the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. She will challenge the the World Champion Ju Wenjun in the Women’s World Championship match. What an incredible achievement given the fact that she started as the lowest ranked player in the tournament and had a shaky start. She remained positive and focused to deliver a winning game in the last round to win the tournament. In her press conference she highlighted how she had pressure when she was leading the table with 1 point and subsequently after losing to Zhu Jiner the pressure was released and she just focused on Chess and not the outcome – great lesson for competitive juniors who often get burdened by the pressure of results. Even after her victory she remained humble and approachable to her fans and supporters. One of the biggest supporter in her life is her mother and her brother.
Another Indian Grand Master Divya Deshmukh didn’t have a great tournament but in the last round her role was crucial as she held Bibisara to a draw giving Vaishali a clear path to win.
Candidates Chess Divya FIDE Grand Master Tournament Vaishali
Last modified: April 16, 2026
