After enduring a challenging two-year period, Vaishali Rameshbabu achieved a remarkable milestone by winning the highly competitive Women’s Candidates tournament. Despite being the lowest-rated player in the eight-woman lineup, her triumph in Cyprus is truly a fairy tale; she remains the lowest-rated participant even after gaining 26 ELO points over the two weeks, while many of her competitors experienced rating losses.

This victory makes Vaishali the second Indian woman to qualify for the Women’s World Championship, following Koneru Humpy’s participation in Tirana in 2011.

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand was one of the early supporters of the 24-year-old Vaishali. He included her in the inaugural group of his chess academy, the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy, where she stood out as the sole female talent alongside prodigies such as Gukesh, Pragg, and Nihal Sarin.

“I recognized Vaishali’s potential as a strong player and one of the best female prospects when we selected her for WACA. She had already achieved significant milestones by then. Over the years, I discovered more about her, especially her tactical prowess and calculating ability, which frequently help her navigate tough positions. She maintains an impressive calmness even in challenging tournaments. Regardless of her internal struggles, she remains composed at the board,” Anand shared with The Indian Express from Cyprus on Thursday.

“I am incredibly proud of her and grateful to have supported her through WACA for the past five years. This is a joyous moment for Indian women’s chess,” he added.

Anand commended Vaishali for her determination, hard work, and resilience, stating, “Most importantly, she demonstrated self-belief. Although she had a slow start and faced a tough loss to Zhu Jiner in round five—who ultimately defeated her again in the tournament—she managed to remain composed during unpredictable games. She consistently maintained better control of her nerves than her competitors and persevered through a fiercely contested tournament.”

Amit Kamath serves as an Assistant Editor at The Indian Express in Mumbai, focusing on chess and Olympic sports. He co-hosts the Game Time podcast, which offers weekly insights into sports, and also pens a chess column titled “On The Moves.”