R Vaishali qualifies for women's Candidates, close to becoming GM

With a superb win over former world champion Zhongyi Tan of China in the penultimate round of FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Tournament 2023, India's R Vaishali has qualified for the women's Candidates Tournament next year. She, along with her younger brother Praggnanandhaa, became the first brother-sister duo to qualify for the respective Candidates and they will be in action in Canada next year.

The victory on Saturday also put her in sole lead in the tournament and guaranteed her a top-two finish. Vaishali is also closing on to became India's third female Grandmaster.

What's the importance of Candidates Tournament?

The Candidates in both men and women's chess are qualification tournaments which will determine the challengers for the World Chess Championship. The winner of the Candidates earns the right to play in the World Championship against the current world champion.

The current women's world champion is China's Ju Wenjun.

The FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Tournament, where Vaishali is in action, is one of the qualification events for the Candidates. She will be one of eight players to feature in the Candidates Tournament in Toronto, Canada.

Earlier this year, Vaishali's brother Praggnanandhaa became only the second Indian to qualify for the men's Candidates tournament after the legendary Viswanathan Anand. He made it to the final of the Chess World Cup where he lost against Magnus Carlsen.

Vaishali close to GM

At 2498 live rating in classical, Vaishali is just two points short of becoming a Grandmaster and when she does that, she and Praggnanandhaa will also become the first brother-sister duo to achieve this feat.

"The Grandmaster title has been a big dream for me since my childhood, and I am getting closer to it. I try not to think about it; of course, it keeps coming into my head, but I am trying my best to focus on my game," she told FIDE.

This will be a big achievement as India has only two Grandmasters who are women -- legends Konery Humpy and Harika Dronavalli. Humpy became the country's first female GM back in 2002. Harika was next when she joined Humpy in 2011.