A major step for Vaishali on the road to the world title match

Vaishali Rameshbabu claimed the Women's Candidates Tournament by defeating Kateryna Lagno with the white pieces in the final round, eliminating any need for tiebreaks. The Indian grandmaster finished clear first with 8.5/14, earning the right to face reigning Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun in the title match. The last round had begun with six players still holding mathematical chances of winning the event, making for an exceptionally tense and finely balanced finish.

Going into the decisive round, Vaishali and Bibisara Assaubayeva shared the lead, while Zhu Jiner trailed by only half a point. Three more players, another half point behind, still had theoretical chances of reaching a playoff depending on the final-round pairings and results. For that reason, many expected tiebreak games to be almost unavoidable. In the end, however, the standings resolved themselves over the board. Assaubayeva drew with Divya Deshmukh and finished alone in second place, leaving the spotlight firmly on Vaishali’s game.

For Lagno, the equation was simple: with the black pieces, she had to play for a win to keep realistic hopes of taking the tournament. That necessity pushed the experienced grandmaster toward an ambitious and risky approach in the opening. In practice, though, that decision worked in Vaishali’s favour. The Indian star obtained a comfortable advantage early, and thanks to better piece coordination, more space and sustained initiative, she never let the game slip from her control. As so often in chess, there came a moment when tactics became unavoidable; Vaishali calculated accurately, converted her advantage cleanly and handled the technical phase without mistakes to score the full point.

This triumph is more than a single tournament victory; it is also a strong confirmation of Vaishali’s steady rise over the past few years. As Indian chess continues to surge at both the open and women’s elite levels, her success highlights once again the depth and ambition of the country’s new generation. Winning the Women's Candidates by taking the final round under immense pressure demands not only chess strength, but also resilience and competitive maturity. Now the chess world turns its attention to Vaishali’s upcoming world championship challenge against Ju Wenjun.