NEW DELHI: Being the third Indian female chess player to achieve this feat, Vaishali Rameshbabu became the grandmaster after surpassing 2,500 International Chess Federation (FIDE) ranking points on Friday at the IV El Llobregat Open in Spain. Vaishali accomplished the last condition on Friday by obtaining the necessary number of rating points, having previously satisfied three GM norms. Other than Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli, she is the third female player to achieve the title of grandmaster. She presently holds this title alongside more than eighty other Indian chess players, such as the renowned Vishwanathan Anand, Humpy, Dronavalli, Dibyendu Barua, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, and others.In addition, Vaishali is the sister of the 18-year-old chess prodigy Praggnanandhaa, who makes them the first-ever grandmaster siblings in the annals of the game. MK Stalin, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, complimented the pair on their accomplishment. “Congratulations, @chessvaishali, for becoming the first female Grandmaster from Tamil Nadu and the third female Grandmaster from India! For you, 2023 has been fantastic. You two have created history by being the first sister-brother team to earn a spot in the #Candidates competition, along with your brother @rpragchess. To top it all off, you are the first Grandmaster siblings ever. We’re very pleased of all that you’ve accomplished, and your incredible journey serves as both a model for aspiring chess players and evidence of women’s empowerment in our state! “#TamilNaduPride@Udhaystalin @ChessbaseIndia @FIDE_chess,” Stalin posted on Twitter using his official X account, which was once Twitter.
