R Vaishali is an outstanding chess player. She is the winner of FIDE Championships – International Master (IM) and Women’s Grandmaster (WGM). She is the sister of Indian chess grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa.
Wiki/Biography
R Vaishali was born on Thursday, June 21, 2001, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India (age 21; as of 2022). Her zodiac sign is Cancer. She completed her school education from Velammal Matriculation High School, Chennai. She completed her bachelor’s degree in commerce from MOP Vaishnav College for Women, Chennai in 2022. According to her, she loved watching TV when she was a child. After noticing this habit, her parents enrolled her in a local chess and drawing class. In an interview with the media, she said that soon after learning the concepts and rules of chess, she won the award for the youngest participant in a chess championship, which encouraged her to continue the sport. She recalled,
When I was six or seven years old, I was watching TV a lot, so my parents decided to send me to chess and drawing classes near our house. Then I entered a competition and won the youngest contestant award in my first competition. “
Childhood photos of R Vaishali and her brother
R Vaishali and her brother received initial chess training from coach S Thiyagarajan.
Vaishali and Praggnanandhaa with Coach Thiyagarajan
appearance
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Her father, Rameshbabu, works as a branch manager in the Tamil Nadu State Bank. Her mother’s name is Nagalakshmi and she is a housewife. She has a younger brother named R Praggnanandhaa who is a chess grandmaster.
R Vaishali with her parents and brother
husband
She is not married yet.
Profession
In 2012, R Vaishali participated in and won the Women’s Under-12 World Youth Chess Championship in Maribor, Slovenia.
Vaishali won the World Under-12 Championship trophy in 2012
Later, her R Vaishali won the Under-14 Women’s World Youth Chess Championship in 2015. Her younger brother Praggnanandhaa also participated in the same tournament and won the World U-10 Championship.
R Vaishali and her brother, 2015
After this, R Vaishali won the Women’s International Masters (WIM) title in 2016. After winning the title, she ranked second in India and 12th in the world in the U16 player category. She won the Women’s Grandmaster (WGM) title at the Riga Technical University Chess Open in Riga, Latvia. In the same year, R Vaishali participated in the Sunway Sitges Chess Festival and was voted the best female player of the event.
R Vaishali voted Best Female Chess Player at Sunway Sitges Chess Festival 2018
Later, R Vaishali won the gold medal in the 2020 Online Olympic Team Event. After winning the gold medal, she became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in an online Olympiad.
Newspaper article when Vaishali won gold medal in 2020
R Vaishali received the International Master (IM) title in 2021.
Vaishali with former world title challenger Boris Gelfand and former world champion Vladimir Kramnik at Microsense Training Camp 2020 in Chennai
In 2022, R Vaishali won her second Grandmaster title after participating in the 8th Fisher Memorial Championship with a score of 7.0/9. In the same year, she defeated her opponent, Women’s World Chess Blitz Champion Bibisara Assaubayeva, in the 16th round of the FIDE Women’s Speed Chess Championship. R Vaishali and Harika Dronavalli participated in the quarter-finals of the same tournament. On August 10, 2022, she created history by winning a bronze medal at the Olympics in Tamil Nadu, India, along with teammates Tania Sachdev, Koneru Humpy and D Harika, and the team became the first Indian team to win a bronze medal . Won a medal in the women’s category at the International Olympic Games.
(Clockwise from left) Tania Sachdev, Koneru Humpy, R Vaishali and D Harika are members of the first Indian women’s team to win an Olympiad medal in chess
title
- 2021: International Master
- 2016: Women’s International Masters
- 2013: Women’s FIDE Master (WFM)
prize
R Vaishali was announced as the Arjuna Award winner in December 2023.
Facts/Trivia
- At the age of 12, she competed against the famous chess champion Magnus Carlsen, who came to India in 2013 for a routine inspection of India’s international championship arrangements. He decided to compete against 20 teenage chess players from India. Magnus Carlsen was shocked when she defeated him in a chess match.
R Vaishali in chess competition
- According to her parents, R Vaishnavi’s school and college authorities helped her a lot by allowing her to skip classes during domestic and chess competitions. According to some media sources, she was admitted to the graduation course even before completing her 12th standard examination.
- Since 2014, R Vaishali and her brother are being coached by chess grandmaster RB Ramesh.
Pragg and Vaishali with GM RB Ramesh
- According to R Vaishali, her father suffered from polio since childhood. She said in a media interview that she was not accompanied by her father during the international competition. She went on to say that her father always arranged flights, accommodation, etc. for her.
- R Vaishali’s hobbies include listening to music, playing badminton with his brother and cycling.
- Once, in an interview with a media outlet, R Vaishali mentioned that her brother used to help her during her preparations for chess tournaments as her brother was a chess grandmaster. In 2021, during the same conversation, she added that he always helped her clear her doubts. R Vaishali said,
My brother, who is 15 years old, is a master. He has been a huge support to me. He would clarify any doubts I had when it came to chess and made it very easy (for me). Of course, we fight a lot, but it’s always fun when we play chess and I learn a lot. “
R Vaishali discusses chess doubts with her brother
- R Vaishali associates with Westbridge Anand Chess Academy to provide professional training in chess. This academy trains and prepares aspiring chess players from India for future competitions. The academy is trained by renowned Indian masters Artur Yusupov, Sandipan Chanda and Grzegorz Gajewski, all of whom are members of the academy. The academy was founded by Viswanathan Anand, a famous Indian chess player. In an interview with the media, Vasali revealed that she first met Anand when she was in the second standard. She grew up idolizing Viswanathan Anand. She recalled,
My inspiration has always been Anand sir. I remember when I was in first or second grade, they used to invite sports champions to come to our school for an annual event. This is my first time meeting him and I don’t know that I will train with him in the future. “
Vaishali and Pragg with their idols at Velammal School celebration ceremony
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education