R Vaishali becomes third Indian woman grandmaster – Firstpost

R Vaishali was a grandmaster even before the title was officially awarded to him by the world chess body (FIDE). In an interview, she said that there was a time when she wasn’t sure if she could achieve this feat, but she managed to get through it thanks to a good support structure.

Vaishali completed the Llobregat Open tournament of 2,500 ELO points required to become the third Indian woman, after Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli, to become general manager.

However, the title was officially conferred upon him following the FIDE Council meeting during the Candidates Tournament last month.

“After he got the title (of women’s general manager), I knew he would become general manager one day. I didn’t think much about the title,” she told news agency PTI.

“Yes, it took a while for it to be official, but I’m happy that the title is finally revealed. I was OK with (the delay),” she added.

The 22-year-old is pleased with her strong performance at the Candidates tournament in Toronto, where she won five straight matches to finish tied for second.

She became a female grandmaster in 2018 after completing her final standard at the Riga Technical University Open in Riga, Latvia.

Having had to wait six years to finally get the GM title, Vaishali said she became a little unsure of the GM title after her ratings stagnated due to lack of competition during the pandemic.

“In the meantime, I couldn’t play any tournament for two years because of the (COVID-19) pandemic. But I worked throughout the match to try to improve my game. I completed my post-pandemic International Masters (IM) cycle (in 2021),” she recalls.

“Even though I was slowly improving my game, my grade became stagnant. There were tough times when I felt I might not get the title, but people believed in me and helped me achieve it,” she said.

Vaishali is the elder sister of R Praggnanandhaa, the 18-year-old who has been making waves for quite a while. Together, they became the first brother-sister duo to qualify for this year’s contestants event.

Talking about her relationship with Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali said, “We talk a lot about our games, which is natural since we have been playing together since childhood.

“He helps me a lot in my game. It’s great to have such a strong player at home with whom I can discuss the game more at any time. When asked about the support she and her brother receive from their parents, Vaishali describes them as their “greatest strength”.

“Our parents are the greatest strength for both of us. My mother comes with us to our tournaments most of the time. She takes care of almost everything and we stay focused on our game,” she revealed.

“Our father takes care of things like logistics, planning and finances. In fact, both meet most of our needs, which actually helps us focus more on our game. I’m really grateful for them.

Apart from chess, Vaishali is currently pursuing a PG diploma in human resource management.

However, she is quick to admit that she has no academic aspirations and is focused on professional chess, with this month’s Women’s Masters in Norway being her next assignment.

“I am in the final year of my Human Resources Management course after completing my B.Com. But I have no academic ambitions. I just want to finish this PG and focus on playing chess full time and professionally.

“I will play the Women Masters in Norway at the end of this month. It’s an exciting event as I would be participating in a new format including time control, apart from a few other tournaments as well,” concluded Vaishali.