R. Vaishali carries a distinct sense of composure. Even as the chess world exploded in joy over the Miracle of Cyprus, the 24-year-old Grandmaster stayed characteristically calm. By winning the FIDE Women’s Candidates 2026, she has not only earned the right to challenge Ju Wenjun for the World Championship, but has also shed the label of merely being Praggnanandhaa’s sister, establishing herself as a global powerhouse in her own right.
From entering as the lowest-rated player in the field to languishing at the bottom of the table after five rounds, Vaishali’s comeback was nothing less than extraordinary. Armed with the razor-sharp home preparation of her mentor Viswanathan Anand and the tactical insights of her brother R. Praggnanandhaa, she methodically steered her way through the 14-round marathon to secure the greatest victory of her career.
Vaishali’s success was built on a foundation of elite support. Her mentor, the legendary Viswanathan Anand, was present in Cyprus to witness the coronation of his pupil from the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy.
Winning the Candidates means a lot to me, as it has been my dream to win the World championship since I was a little girl. When Viswanathan Anand sir was given a reception in 2012, after he won the World championship, I was one of the kids sent to the Chennai airport by my school, Velammal. That reception was inspiring.
R. Vaishali
Even before the Candidates, I had discussions with Anand sir, and the suggestions he made proved useful for my games. And yes, I have been discussing chess with my younger brother R. Praggnanadhaa... We even discussed what openings I should play for my last two rounds.
R. Vaishali
I don’t think about legacy so much. He’s helping me to be a better player and a better person, so I think it will anyway help me. He’s playing at such a top level, and I get to discuss the game with him daily. Anytime I want to discuss something, he’s always very curious. I think it’s a great blessing for me to have such a brother.
On her identity and relationship with her brother, R. Vaishali
Vaishali’s ability to sit still for hours, a trait spotted when she was just seven, became her advantage in the high-pressure "Dragon variation" of the final round.
She could sit still for hours at a stretch. That was very special. She could stay patient for five hours — or even more if needed — at the board when she was just seven. At that age, this is not common.
S Thyagarajan, Bloom Chess Academy
Peter Svidler recounted an anecdote where Vaishali sat silent for an hour to solve a very, very difficult position that had other GMs stumped:
I don’t have that ability. It’s completely alien to me — to just sit there and calculate for as long as it takes.
Peter Svidler
We would be past move 15 but still have the pieces in the same original position on the board. It was not just about visualisation, but also about finding good moves.
R. Praggnanadhaa From Cartoons to Calculation
Vaishali reflected on the pattern of her tournament, acknowledging her slow start before the peak arrived.
I wasn’t pleased with the way I began, however — four draws and then a loss in the fifth round. But after that, I bounced back with successive victories. Yes, it has been a pattern for me: I tend to hit my peak after a low. I wasn’t bothered about the standings at the early stage, as I knew I could come back later, but what worried me was the way I played: I was defending in every game. So I decided to focus on the quality of my games.
R. Vaishali
Sibling tag: Commentator Jan Gustafsson noted: “I read one of her interviews on a rest day where 90 per cent of the questions she was asked were about Pragg, which probably motivated her extra to show people (who she is).”
"Monk" origins: Vaishali was originally sent to chess academy as a child clinicaly to be weaned off cartoon shows on TV.
Room for legends: Panayiotis Markou announced: “We have decided that the rooms in which they stayed during this special period of competition will bear their names from now on... This will be our tribute to their success.”
Sibling commute: Ramesh recalled the siblings' childhood grit: “Right from the start… they would travel nearly one and a half hours daily just to get to my academy. No matter what... And after four hours of non-stop chess, when others took breaks, they would start playing blitz.”
For years, the chess community assumed Praggnanandhaa would be the family member to contend for a world championship, but it was his older sister, the original chess talent in the household, who ruthlessly struck first in Cyprus. Under the mentorship of Anand and powered by her extraordinary calculating skills, Vaishali has decisively evolved from an underdog into the main challenger to Ju Wenjun’s crown.
