At the IV El Llobregat Open in Spain on Friday, 22-year-old Vaishali Rameshbaabu achieved the Grandmaster title by surpassing the 2500 rating points milestone. She is currently the third Indian woman to be a grandmaster. .png) |
| praggnanandhaa and vaishali become the first brother-sister team to become Grandmasters, |
With a rating of 2238, the 22-year-old defeated FM Tamer Terek Celen of Turkey in the second round, and he has now won two straight games in the tournament.
"I'm overjoyed to have finally achieved this title. There are just two rounds. I'm also keeping my attention on the competition. But the GM title truly makes me happy," she said to Chess.com. After beginning to play chess, I have at last accomplished my aim. I was excited because I was getting close to it, but I was also under pressure. My game wasn't that good in the middle, but I still prevailed."
Finally 👏🏻 the 3rd Grandmaster of the country @chessvaishali Hope this is just a beginning for the rise of Indian women’s chess🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/mQpobQY88G
— Harika Dronavalli (@HarikaDronavali) December 2, 2023
"I have qualified for the candidates and hope to win this tournament. "Vaishali and her younger brother r. praggnanandhaa have accomplished a historic first by becoming the first brother and sister team to become Grandmasters. In addition, they are the first siblings to be considered for a chess pairing.
Vaishali's and her brother Praggnanandhaa's chess journeys are linked. Both have experienced concurrent success, taking home medals from a variety of events, including two bronzes from the Olympiad and two silvers from the Asian Games. Rameshbabu, Vaishali's father, was an avid chess player and introduced her to the game.