GMRameshbabu VaishaliLIVE

Vaishali Rameshbabu grew up in Chennai in a family that also supported the chess career of her younger brother Praggnanandhaa. She won the world girls' under-12 championship in 2012 and the under-14 title in 2015. At twelve she defeated Magnus Carlsen in a simultaneous exhibition in Chennai. She won India's junior girls' championship in 2015 and 2016. She completed her woman-grandmaster qualification at the 2018 Riga Technical University Open. Her 2023 Women's Grand Swiss victory earned a place in the Candidates Tournament. She completed the requirements for the open grandmaster title later that year, with FIDE recording it in 2024. She and Praggnanandhaa became the first brother-and-sister pair to hold that title. She helped India win women's Olympiad bronze in 2022 and gold in 2024. India recognized her with the Arjuna Award in 2024. She won the Women's Grand Swiss again in 2025. In 2026 she won the Women's Candidates Tournament, earning the right to challenge Ju Wenjun for the world title.