Skip to main content

    India's grandmasters · the road to the title

    R Vaishali: The Road to Grandmaster, Tournament by Tournament

    R Vaishali's parents put her in chess classes at about six, at an academy near their home in Chennai, to cut down her television time. She was the first chess player in the family; her younger brother, Praggnanandhaa, followed her. She won the World Under-12 girls title in 2012 and the Under-14 girls title in 2015.

    Her four grandmaster norms took more than four years, with the pandemic in between. In late 2023 she made the last one at the Qatar Masters, won the Women's Grand Swiss and passed 2500 on 1 December: India's third woman grandmaster, and with Pragg the first brother and sister to both become grandmasters.

    R Vaishali in 2026
    R Vaishali, 2026. Photo: TheBoburshokh, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
    Born
    21 June 2001, Chennai[1]
    Learned chess
    About 6, at a chess academy[2]
    First coach
    S Thyagarajan[3]
    Grandmaster
    December 2023, at 22[4]
    Peak rating
    2506 (August 2024)[4]
    Coaches named in sources
    7[2]

    Tournament by tournament: the road to grandmaster

    1. undefined 2007

      First tournament (name not stated)[2]

      Youngest participant prize

      Her own account of the prize that drew her into competitive chess, after her parents put her in classes at about 6 or 7.

    2. 2012 · age 10

      National age-group championship, then Asian Youth Championships, Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka[5]

      National champion; Asian Youth U12 girls champion

      First national and continental age titles named in sources; both siblings returned champions.

    3. Nov 2012 · age 11

      World Youth Chess Championship 2012, Girls U12, Maribor, Slovenia[6]

      Gold

      World youth title No. 1; her first world youth event and first trip to Europe; trophy presented by Garry Kasparov (ChessBase India).

    4. 2013

      FIDE title: Woman FIDE Master[4]

      WFM title

      First FIDE title, per her FIDE profile.

    5. 2013 · age 12

      Magnus Carlsen simultaneous exhibition, Chennai[2]

      Beat Carlsen

      Beat the soon-to-be world champion in a 20-board simul ahead of the 2013 World Championship in Chennai.

    6. Oct 2015 · age 14

      World Youth Chess Championship 2015, Girls U14[7]

      Gold

      World youth title No. 2, won as top seed; Praggnanandhaa won the Open U10 at the same event (ChessBase India).

    7. Mar 2016 · age 14

      FIDE title: Woman International Master[4]

      WIM title

      Second FIDE title.

    8. May 2017 · age 15

      Asian (Women's) Championship, Chengdu, China[8]

      Blitz gold; classical bronze

      First senior continental title (blitz). The PTI article calls her 16; by her FIDE birth date she was 15.

    9. Jun 2018 · age 16

      Gredine Open, Italy[9]

      Second WGM norm

      Second Woman Grandmaster norm.

    10. Aug 2018 · age 17

      Riga Technical University Open, Riga, Latvia[9]

      Final WGM norm

      Woman Grandmaster title requirements completed (title confirmed by FIDE at the 89th FIDE Congress, Batumi, Sep-Oct 2018).

    11. Jul 2019 · age 18

      Xtracon Chess Open 2019, Helsingor, Denmark[10]

      7.5/10; performance 2553

      GM norm 1 (FIDE record: Xtracon Chess Open 2019, 20-28 Jul 2019, Rc 2435, 6.5/9 counted after dropping a game). Also her second IM norm.

    12. Aug 2020 · age 19

      FIDE Online Chess Olympiad 2020[2]

      Team gold (shared with Russia)

      First Olympiad-level team gold for India (online event).

    13. Aug 2021 · age 20

      Biel Masters Open 2021, Switzerland[2]

      Final IM norm

      International Master title (FIDE: IM 2021, 3rd FIDE Council). She had missed the final IM norm by losing the last round of Aeroflot 2020.

    14. Apr 2022 · age 20

      8th Fischer Memorial, Heraklion GM round-robin, Crete, Greece[11]

      1st, 7/9; performance 2596

      GM norm 2, almost three years after the first (FIDE record lists it as '29th Heraklion open - Cretan Chess Tour 2022', 25 Apr-3 May 2022, Rc 2391, 7/9).

    15. Oct 2023 · age 22

      Qatar Masters 2023, Doha[12]

      5/9; top women's prize; performance 2609

      GM norm 3, the last one she needed (FIDE record: Qatar Masters 2023, 11-20 Oct 2023, Rc 2566, 5/9). She had almost skipped the event after the Asian Games (BBC).

    16. Oct 2023 · age 22

      FIDE Women's Grand Swiss 2023, Isle of Man[13]

      1st, unbeaten 8.5/11; performance 2658

      Won the event and a Candidates place; FIDE's title record also lists it as a norm (Rc 2447, 8.5/11), so FIDE's record has four norm events.

    17. Dec 2023 · age 22

      IV El Llobregat Open 2023, Spain (round 2 win over FM Tamer Tarik Selbes)[14]

      Live rating passed 2500 (2501.5)

      Completed all GM title requirements: India's 84th GM and third woman GM. The AICF application gives 2 December 2023 as the date the necessary rating was gained.

    18. 2024 · age 22

      FIDE title: Grandmaster[4]

      GM title awarded

      Title confirmed by FIDE after the AICF application dated 31 Jan 2024.

    Coaches and trainers

    7 people are named in published sources as a coach, trainer, second or mentor, in order. Players rarely list everyone who helped them, so this is what's on the record, not a complete count.

    1. S Thyagarajan (also spelled Thiyagarajan)[3]first coach (Bloom Chess Academy, Chennai) · from about age 6-7 until 2014
    2. RB Ramesh (GM)[2]main coach · 2014 to date (named current coach in Dec 2023)
    3. Antoaneta Stefanova (GM)[2]group classes for girls · 2016
    4. Artur Yusupov (GM)[2]trainer, Westbridge Anand Chess Academy · by 2021
    5. Sandipan Chanda (GM)[15]trainer, Westbridge Anand Chess Academy; trainer at the 2024 Candidates (Hindustan Times) · c. 2021 to at least Apr 2024
    6. Grzegorz Gajewski (GM)[2]trainer, Westbridge Anand Chess Academy · by 2021
    7. Viswanathan Anand (GM)[2]mentor; she trains in the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy group he founded · by 2021

    Records, as they stood

    • Third Indian woman to earn the GM title (as of 2023-12)[16]
    • India's 84th Grandmaster (as of 2023-12)[14]
    • World's first brother-sister GM pair (second Indian sibling GM pair, after Visakh and Vignesh NR) (as of 2023-12)[13]
    • With Praggnanandhaa, first brother-sister pair to qualify for the Candidates (as of 2023-11)[17]
    • 10th Indian woman to earn the IM title (as of 2021-08)[2]
    • 42nd woman GM in the world (South First; ChessBase India says 41 female GMs on the Dec 2023 list, a different measure) (as of 2023-12)[16]
    • Won the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss two editions running (2023, 2025) (as of 2025-09)[18]

    Since the title: career highlights

    • Nov 2023Won FIDE Women's Grand Swiss 2023 (8.5/11, unbeaten), qualifying for the 2024 Candidates[17]
    • Apr 2024Women's Candidates 2024, Toronto: 7.5/14, tied 2nd, 4th on tiebreak, after five straight wins to finish[19]
    • Sep 2024Chess Olympiad 2024, Budapest: women's team gold, India's first (she played in the final-round win over Azerbaijan)[20]
    • Aug 2024Peak FIDE standard rating 2506 (August 2024 list)[4]
    • Sep 2025Won FIDE Women's Grand Swiss 2025, Samarkand (8/11), defending her title[18]
    • Apr 2026Won the FIDE Women's Candidates 2026, Cyprus (8.5/14), to become challenger to Ju Wenjun[21]
    • Oct 2026Women's World Championship match vs Ju Wenjun: 12 games, dates and host city still to be announced on FIDE's cycle page[22]
    • Oct 2026Current FIDE standard rating 2452 (October 2026 list); the profile shows world rank 986 among active players and India rank 74[4]

    Checked on 2026-10-22. Ratings and rankings change every month.

    Where sources disagree

    We show both versions instead of picking one quietly.

    • Age when they learned chess
    • How they learned chess
      • Introduced by her father, an avid chess player[23]
      • Parents enrolled her in a nearby academy to cut her TV/cartoon time[3]
    • 2012 World U12 decisive game
      • Key win over top seed in round eight[6]
      • Beat the top seed in the last round (coach's memory)[3]
    • IM title year
      • Around 2015 (Indian Express)[23]
      • 2021 (FIDE; final norm Biel, Aug 2021)[4]
    • GM norm 2 event name and format
      • 8th Fischer Memorial, round-robin (media; AICF application says Round Robin)[11]
      • 29th Heraklion open - Cretan Chess Tour 2022, system SS (FIDE title record)[24]
    • Number of GM norms
      • Three (Qatar 2023 = third and final)[14]
      • Four norm events in FIDE's record (Grand Swiss 2023 counted as a fourth)[13]
    • Date she crossed 2500
      • Friday 1 December 2023 (live rating, El Llobregat round 2)[13]
      • 2 December 2023 (AICF title application, 'date necessary rating gained')[1]
    • Women's World Championship match timing
      • Later in 2026 (Times of India, Apr 2026)[25]
      • Dates and host city to be announced (FIDE, checked Oct 2026)[22]

    Every grandmaster started with a first tournament

    How long the road usually takes, from first moves to the title, is in our study of how long it takes to become a grandmaster. For a child starting out, here's how to get a FIDE rating in India.

    Book a free trial classFree report on your child's games

    Quick answers

    When did Vaishali become a grandmaster?

    She completed the requirements in December 2023, when her rating passed 2500, and FIDE awarded the title in 2024. She was India's third woman grandmaster.

    Who is Vaishali's coach?

    Her first coach was S Thyagarajan at Bloom Chess Academy in Chennai. GM RB Ramesh has been her main coach since 2014.

    Are Vaishali and Praggnanandhaa brother and sister?

    Yes. Vaishali is the elder; she started chess first and her brother followed. They are the first brother and sister to both become grandmasters.

    More of India's greats

    Sources

    Every fact above links to the page it came from. We read each page and copied the sentence that says it; the quote is shown here. Checked on 2026-10-22.

    1. [1]ratings.fide.com"FIDE ID Number: 5091756 date of birth : 21.06.2001 Place of birth: CHENNAI"
    2. [2]chessbase.in"She says, “When I was 6 or 7 years old, I used to watch a lot of TV, so my parents decided to put me in chess and drawing classes near our home."
    3. [3]indianexpress.com"As a seven-year-old, her ability to sit still at the board with monk-like discipline was what struck S Thyagarajan, who was her first coach at the Bloom Chess Academy in Chennai"
    4. [4]ratings.fide.com"Decisions Title FIDE PB / Congress Status Grandmaster 2024 1st FIDE Council YES"
    5. [5]bbc.com"In 2012, Vaishali and Praggnanandhaa won the nationals and qualified for the Asian youth championships in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka."
    6. [6]en.chessbase.com"In the Girls U12 R. Vaishali R from India took the gold after a key win over leader and top-seed WIM Abdumalik Zhansaya from Kazakhstan in round eight."
    7. [7]old.fide.com"WFM Vaishali R was rather convincing in the Girls U14."
    8. [8]business-standard.com"Vaishali bounced back strongly by winning the gold in the Asian Blitz Championship and a bronze in the Classical format at Chengdu, China recently."
    9. [9]sportstar.thehindu.com"Vaishali had acquired her second WGM norm at the Gredine Open (Italy)--the same tournament her brother became a GM and the youngest Indian to do so in June."
    10. [10]chessbase.in"His sister WGM R. Vaishali also performed admirably by scoring 7.5/10 and scored her maiden GM-norm and second IM-norm. She is the only woman to have finished in top 25 in the tournament."
    11. [11]sportstar.thehindu.com"International Master R. Vaishali made her second Grandmaster-norm on her way to the 8th Fischer memorial round-robin chess title in Heraklion, Greece, on Tuesday. In the 10-player event, Vaishali scored seven points from nine rounds."
    12. [12]en.chessbase.com"With a 5/9 score and a better tiebreak score than her compatriot Divya Deshmukh, Vaishali secured both the aforementioned prize and her third GM norm."
    13. [13]chessbase.in"Although Vaishali did not require it, but her performance of winning the tournament earned her a fourth GM-norm in Douglas, Isle of Man in November 2023. She scored an outstanding 8.5/11 to become the champion, remained undefeated"
    14. [14]indiatoday.in"Indian chess ace R Vaishali joined younger sibling R Praggnanandhaa to become the world’s first-ever brother-sister Grandmasters duo and only the third woman from the country to earn the GM title, at the IV El Llobregat Open in Spain."
    15. [15]revsportz.in"This is what Sandipan Chanda emphasises. He has been working with Vaishali for over two years, through the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy in Chennai."
    16. [16]thesouthfirst.com"She has entered history books by becoming only the third Indian woman — after Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli — to achieve the remarkable title of Grandmaster (GM) in the country."
    17. [17]sportstar.thehindu.com"Vaishali, along with her younger brother Praggnanandhaa, became the first brother-sister duo to qualify for the respective Candidates, and they will be in action in Canada"
    18. [18]timesofindia.indiatimes.com"The 24-year-old drew her final-round clash against China’s Tan Zhongyi to finish with 8 points from 11 rounds, enough to clinch the crown for a second consecutive year."
    19. [19]hindustantimes.com"The 22-year-old went from four straight losses and being placed at the bottom of the eight-player standings (2.5/9) to five straight wins, finishing tied second (7.5/14; fourth place on tiebreaks)."
    20. [20]chess.com"IMs Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal also won their games, while GM Vaishali Rameshbabu drew her game to reach a very convincing 3.5 points out of four."
    21. [21]aicf.in"GM Vaishali R will challenge Ju Wenjun for the Women’s World Chess Championship after winning the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026 outright with an impressive score of 8.5/14 ."
    22. [22]fide.com"FIDE WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH DATES AND HOST CITY TO BE ANNOUNCED The Women’s World Championship Match consists of 12 games."
    23. [23]indianexpress.com"Recognising his daughter’s potential, he put her for chess coaching from the age of five. She quickly progressed, winning several state and national-level tournaments in her age category."
    24. [24]ratings.fide.com"2022-04-25 2022-05-03 Hraklion GRE 29th Heraklion open - Cretan Chess Tour 2022 SS 2391 7 7 9"
    25. [25]timesofindia.indiatimes.com"earning the right to challenge China’s reigning champion Ju Wenjun for the Women’s World Chess Championship crown later this year."