 "Both R Vaishali and Arjun Erigaisi played out a draw in the final round of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Image credit: FIDE")
Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali made history on Monday by successfully defending her FIDE Grand Swiss title in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The 24-year-old finished as the joint-leader with Russia’s Kateryna Lagno in the women’s standings after playing out a draw against China’s Tan Zhongyi in the 11th and final round on Monday.
Both Vaishali and Lagno, who played out a draw against Azerbaijani International Master Ulviyya Fataliyeva, finished on 8 points out a possible 11. Vaishali, however, finished ahead of Lagno in the tie-breaks to become the first player, male or female, to successfully defend his/her FIDE Grand Swiss title.
And in the process, the former joined fellow Indian Grandmasters Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy in qualifying for next year’s Women’s Candidates Tournament – marking a landmark moment in Indian women’s chess.
Deshmukh, who finished with 5 points out of 11 after receiving a wildcard entry into the ‘Open’ section, had earlier confirmed her place in the Candidates along with Humpy after the two setup a historic all-Indian final at the FIDE World Cup in July, which was won by the former.
Keymer denies Arjun a Candidates spot
Arjun Erigaisi, meanwhile missed out on the opportunity to join world No 3 Fabiano Caruana in the next year’s Candidates in the ongoing tournament after being held to a draw by German GM Vincent Keymer in the final round on Monday.
Heading into the final round needing an outright win to stay in contention, besides needing other results to go his way, Erigaisi was unable to find an opening that would push his opponent to the backfoot while playing as white. On the contrary, it was Keymer who enjoyed a slight advantage over the world No 5 on the eval bar at one point.
Erigaisi, ended up shaking hands with his opponent despite having a considerable time advantage, after a rook vs knight endgame.
Keymer finished level on 7.5 points with compatriot Matheus Bluebaum and French GM Alireza Firouzja to remain in contention for the second Candidates spot after Dutch GM Anish Giri sealed his place with a victory over Hans Niemann, finishing with 8 points, with Bluebaum joining him in the Candidates after finishing runner-up.
Also playing out a draw in the final round were Vidit Gujrathi – who had won the 2023 edition – as well as Indian No 1 R Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin. Gujrathi and Sarin finished level on 7 points with Erigaisi while Praggnanandhaa finished with 6.
Reigning world champion D Gukesh, meanwhile, ended what was a forgettable campaign with back-to-back wins, defeating Ukraine’s Andrei Volokitin in the final round on Monday to finish level on 6 points with ‘Pragg’.