Vaishali Rameshbabu becomes 3rd female Grandmaster of India:
Chess prodigy, Vaishali Rameshbabu, a Chennai girl has created history as she becomes the indias third female chess grandmaster (GM) of India on 1 December during the “El Llobregat Open tournament” in Spain. The first Indian female to earn the prestigious GM title was Koneru Hampi in 2002. This was followed by Harika Dronavali when she won the title back in 2011. Overall, Vaishali became the 84th Grandmaster of India.
She is currently ranked world number 11 in the women’s rankings and number two in India with a rating of 2501.5.
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With this achievement, Vaishali and her younger brother also a chess player, R. Praggnanandhaa have become the first-ever Grandmaster siblings pair in the history. They also become the first-ever brother-sister duo to make the candidates tournament, the qualifying event for the World championship match.
Important Points to Note:
- It was started in 1924 in Paris.
- It was recognized as a global sports organization by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1999.
- Vishwanathan Anand becomes the first Indian player to become a Chess Grandmaster in the year 1988.
- Koneru Hampi is the first Indian female to win the Grandmaster title.
- Chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa became the youngest Grandmaster of India when he won the title in 2018 at an age of just 12.
- Tamil Nadu is the Indian state with the most number of Grandmaster titles
- Vaishali Rameshbabu becomes 3rd female Grandmaster of India.
Headquarters of FIDE – Laussane (Switzerland)
Chairman – Arkady Dvorkovich
Vice-Chairman – Vishwanathan Anand