Vaishali

It was indeed a goosebumps moment to share the podium with my brother!😍

It was nice meeting you! Thanks sir🙏

The year might be different but the emotions are the same! 😍😍 Photo: Aditya Sur Roy/ChessBase India #chess #chessbaseindia #vaishalichess #praggnanandhaa

The man who gave India two gems - Vaishali and Pragg. That's S. Thiyagarajan - the first coach of Pragg and Vaishali. The bottom picture was taken nearly 14 years ago and the above frame was captured on the 20th of April 2026 after Vaishali returned from Cyprus becoming the Women's World Championship Challenger! What a proud moment for S. Thiyagarajan. As GM R.B. Ramesh mentioned, "Due credit should be given to Thiyagarajan for imbuing in the youngsters a "passion and work ethic" that are "out of this world". Thiyagrajan has produced "gems" and deserves far more visibility for his contribution to Indian chess than what he gets right now." Thiyagarajan is the assistant head coach at the Bloom Chess Academy and has dedicated his life to chess coaching and training. Photo: Aditya Sur Roy/ChessBase India #chess #chessbaseindia #vaishalichess

We had the honour of meeting Manuel Aaron Sir, Pioneer of Indian chess. At 92 his passion is still unmatched and analyzing all top-level games. Truly inspiring and lot of respect🙏🙏

Vaishali Rameshbabu stood on the podium, a gold medal around her neck – wired from little sleep and much joy – while in the audience sat a man who had taken three flights, travelling from south India to the eastern edge of Europe, just to witness this moment. +

The Queen is home 🤗❤️ Video: @adityasurroy21, @chess_holic

Queen is coming for the throne 🇮🇳💎 #chess #chessbaseindia #vaishali #praggnanandhaa

🇮🇳 Vaishali Rameshbabu wins the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 🏆 ❗️She will now challenge 🇨🇳 Ju Wenjun for the FIDE Women's World Championship title! #FIDECandidates #FIDEWomensCandidates #FIDE #Chess #Cyprus

15th April, 2026 will be marked as a red letter day in the history of Indian Chess. Today in Cyprus, Grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu became the Champion of FIDE Women's Candidates 2026 scoring 8.5/14 points! Vaishali will challenge the reigning Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun in the upcoming FIDE Women's World Championship match. Going into the final round, Vaishali had a score of 7.5/14 points - same as Bibisara Assaubayeva. Divya Deshmukh drew against Bibisara in a wild game, and Vaishali scored a dominating win over Kateryna Lagno - with this win, she became the Champion! Vaishali played some incredible Chess throughout the tournament. She scored 5 wins, had 7 draws, and conceded only 2 losses! A huge congratulations to Vaishali, her family, and her team for this incredible result. 15 years ago, Koneru Humpy played against Hou Yifan in the Women's World Championship match in November 2011 - and now Vaishali will play against Ju Wenjun! Graphic: Anmol Bhargav #chess #ChessBaseIndia #Candidates #vaishali

@naralokesh @FIDE_chess Thank you very much sir!🙏

Congratulations to R Vaishali on winning the Women’s Candidates and earning a shot at the World Championship! Wishing her the very best as she takes on Ju Wenjun - may her brilliance on the board inspire a new generation of young Indians to dream big and think bold. @FIDE_chess @chessvaishali #FIDECandidates #FIDEWomensCandidates #FIDE #Chess #Cyprus

@SDhawan25 Thank you very much!!🙏🤗

A proud milestone for Indian chess 🇮🇳 R Vaishali showed control, resilience and clarity throughout. A deserving challenger for the World Championship 🙌

The amazing Guru-Shishya duo - Women's World Championship Challenger Vaishali Rameshbabu with her coach RB Ramesh! Photo: @ram_abhyudaya

@PiyushGoyal Thank you very much sir!😊🙏

Our Nari Shakti continues to checkmate the glass ceiling! ♟️🇮🇳 With exceptional grit and composure, R. Vaishali has etched her name in history as the first Indian to win the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. A moment of immense pride for the nation. 👏

A proud brother moment ❤️ #FIDECandidates #FIDEWomensCandidates

🇮🇳 Vaishali Rameshbabu: FIDE Women’s World Championship challenger, with her FIDE Women’s Candidates winner’s trophy 🌟🏆♟️ #FIDECandidates #FIDEWomensCandidates #FIDE #Chess #Cyprus

🇮🇳 Vaishali Rameshbabu takes the stage and lifts the 2026 FIDE Women’s Candidates trophy at the closing ceremony 🏆🔥 #FIDECandidates #FIDEWomensCandidates #FIDE #Chess #Cyprus

🇮🇳 Vaishali Rameshbabu delivers her victory speech after a remarkable FIDE Women’s Candidates win 🏆♟️ #FIDECandidates #FIDEWomensCandidates #FIDE #Chess #Cyprus

🇮🇳 Vaishali Rameshbabu speaks about the importance of support, expressing gratitude to her family, team, and sponsors ❤️♟️ #FIDECandidates #FIDEWomensCandidates #FIDE #Chess #Cyprus

He believed before the world did ❤️🥹🇮🇳 The legend @Rameshchess 💎 Edit: @ram_abhyudaya #chess #chessbaseindia #vaishali

Congrats to Vaishali akka! 🔥🔥Proud of what you have achieved! Inspiring to see how you handled the critical moments in the tournament! Happy to see the results for all the hard work!