R Vaishali’s ‘tough moments’ fire her to chess history and FIDE Women's Grand Swiss title

Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali credited her struggles over the past two years and the resulting improvement in her game and focus after clinching the historic Women’s FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 title in Samarkand on Monday. Vaishali, who is the first player to win the women’s FIDE Grand Swiss title for a second consecutive time, also became the third Indian to qualify for the Candidates 2026.

The Candidates winner will take on Wenjun Ju of China in the next women’s World Chess Championship match. Besides Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy have already qualified for the women’s Candidates.

Vaishali: ‘This win is very crucial’

Vaishali was also the only Indian to book a Candidates spot through Grand Swiss, as some of the top Indian names, including her brother Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin, faltered in the Open section.

Asked to compare her 2023 Grand Swiss win with the latest victory, Vaishali said: “It’s very hard to choose. In 2023, the Grand Swiss victory came at the very right moment, I didn’t played well for a long time, I was aiming to earn Grandmaster norms, a lot of things fell into place.

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“Again this year was not going well, I was working very hard but somehow the results were not going my way, this win is very crucial,” she added.

So proud of you, akka! 🏆
Winning the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss is such an incredible achievement. The confidence and determination you’ve shown throughout the tournament has been truly inspiring.

Big congratulations on this amazing victory! ♟️ pic.twitter.com/u6gMGaOgdw

— Praggnanandhaa (@rpraggnachess) September 15, 2025

Vaishali scripted a sensational comeback to win the FIDE Grand Swiss, given her recent poor form. At the Chennai Grand Masters tournament at home, the 24-year-old Vaishali could only accumulate a poor 1.5 points in nine rounds before losing in the quarter-finals of the women’s FIDE World Cup, which was won by India’s Divya.

Vaishali: ‘Tough moments made me stronger’

Speaking about her struggles over the last years and how it has helped her, Vaishali said: “(I had) A lot of experience in the last two years, many tough tournaments, even for example in the Candidates (2024) I lost four games in a row, there were many tough moments like that that made me stronger as a player and as a person.

“In my previous tournament at Chennai GM I lost seven games, I lost one week in a row, I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, then sometimes when I win, I am unstoppable.

“…actually when I lost to Bibisara (Assaubayeva from Kazakhstan) I am happy I did not collapse, I drew the next game and kind of settled in,” she added while recalling her eighth round loss at Grand Swiss.

Overall, seven players have already qualified for the eight-player women’s Candidate. Besides the Indian Grandmasters, China’s Jiner Zhu and Zhongyi Tan, Russians Aleksandra Goryachkina and Kateryna Lagno have also booked spots for themselves.