R Vaishali Wins Women’s Candidates as India Dreams of Double World Chess Crowns

For nearly 15 years, R Vaishali has lived in the shadow of her younger brother, R Praggnanandhaa . He was the prodigy, the player who beat world champions as a teenager, the face of India’s new chess revolution. But in Cyprus this week, it was Vaishali who produced the bigger moment, winning the Women’s Candidates and earning the right to challenge Ju Wenjun for the world title.

Vaishali entered the tournament as the lowest-rated player in the field at 2470. But the gap between her and the rest was not particularly large. The top seed, Zhu Jiner came in at 2559, while Tan Zhongyi was rated 2535, Aleksandra Goryachkina 2533, Anna Muzychuk 2522, Divya Deshmukh 2510, Bibisara Assaubayeva 2505 and Kateryna Lagno 2503.

She did it with a final-round victory over Lagno, while Divya held Bibisara to a draw, ensuring Vaishali stayed ahead. It was not a triumph built on domination, but on resilience, timing and nerve.

For Praggnanandhaa, the open section was a disappointment, ending in seventh place out of eight. But it is difficult to imagine he will be feeling much disappointment now.

The open tournament had already been settled by Javokhir Sindarov , who sealed victory with a round to spare before making a quick final-round draw with Wei Yi to finish on 10/14, the highest winning score in the modern Candidates format. Meanwhile, Anish Giri finished on an excellent 8.5/14. In many past Candidates tournaments, that would have been enough to win. But Sindarov’s blazing start left the rest of the field chasing him all the way.

With D Gukesh set to defend the open world title and Vaishali now earning the right to challenge Ju Wenjun in the women’s section, there is now a realistic possibility that India could end the year holding both World Chess Crowns. If Vaishali succeeds, it would also mark a significant break in China’s long domination of the women’s game.