Indian chess Grandmaster R Vaishali has set her sights on two key objectives this year — to deliver a series of consistent performances and secure a coveted spot in the prestigious Candidates Tournament. The past year has already proven to be a remarkable chapter in the 23-year-old’s career, with a series of career-defining milestones. These include becoming only the third woman from India to earn the esteemed Grandmaster title, playing a vital role in India’s gold-medal-winning performance in the women’s event at the Chess Olympiad, and clinching a bronze medal at the World Blitz Championship.
“My main goal is to show consistent performance and play some good games,” Vaishali told PTI.
“Of course, by the end of the year, I aim to qualify for the Candidates Tournament. I had the opportunity to play in the Candidates last year, and I hope to qualify for it again.” The Women’s Candidates Tournament determines the challenger for the World Chess Championship.
Reflecting on her bronze at the Blitz World Championship, Vaishali said the result was especially important for her confidence, following a series of disappointing tournaments.
“It was an important result for my confidence especially, because I had a few bad tournaments in a row and it was nice to end finally with a good result last year.
Despite these highs, Vaishali also experienced some lows that cost her valuable rating points.
However, she views these challenges as valuable learning experiences.
“I would say it was a mixed year. I achieved some good results, but I also lost some rating points. It was a very interesting experience,” she reflected.
“I had the chance to compete in strong round-robin tournaments and participate in prestigious events like the Candidates back-to-back challenges. Overall, last year was a great learning experience for me.” The Chennai-based player recently finished ninth in the Challenger section of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament.
Vaishali believes that had she capitalised on her chances, she could have finished in a better position — a goal she is determined to achieve in the future.
“Tata Steel is a strong tournament, and I think my performance was decent,” she said.
“Surely I could have scored a few points more, like I had some good positions, I failed to convert them, which I’ll work on and try to improve. Going forward, I want to focus on showing more consistent performance.” During the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, a clip surfaced showing Uzbek Grandmaster Nodirbek Yakubboev refusing to shake hands with Vaishali due to religious reasons, which quickly went viral, drawing comments from figures like chess legend Susan Polgar.
“I didn’t know it was a big thing back in India. I was focused on the games and didn’t know what was going on in the social media.
“Later I got to know, and okay, we all know what happened. It didn’t affect me in any way.
Vaishali is excited to return to the Norway Chess Women tournament scheduled to be held from May 26 to June 6.
“Last year was a great experience. They’re bringing in this women’s tournament, new format along with the Norway main event. And personally, I really enjoyed playing in Norway because like I’ve also got the chance to see the top players playing alongside.
“The format is also very different. They have the Armageddon format if you make a draw in the classical game, we go on to the Armageddon game, which I’ve never played until the last Norway event. So I’m really looking forward to that.” Vaishali also feels that having a brother of R Praggnanandhaa’s calibre around on tour has been supremely beneficial to her and she often seeks his counsel.
“He’s a strong player. So for me, it’s a great benefit to have him. He’s also very passionate about the game. So whenever I have some questions, I always go to him. And he’s very happy to discuss about the game.
“He’s a great support for me. Even in preparing some openings, I’ll discuss with him.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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