Vaishali Rameshbabu holds former world champion Zhongyi Tan of China in final round
Replicates her FIDE Women's Grand Swiss success in 2023
Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri wins Open section
Indian Grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu successfully defended her FIDE Women's Grand Swiss title in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Monday (September 15, 2025), achieving qualification for the prestigious women’s Candidates tournament in the process. Vaishali notched up a hard-fought draw against former world champion Zhongyi Tan of China in the 11th and final round to seal her victory.
Russian chess player Kateryna Lagno also secured her spot at the top of the tables by playing out a quick draw with Ulviyya Fataliyeva of Azerbaijan. With this result, Lagno became the other qualifier for the Candidates from this event, finishing with eight points out of a possible eleven. The women’s Candidates tournament is reserved for eight players in total, with two qualifying from the FIDE Grand Swiss.
None of the other Indian players managed to qualify from this tournament.
Anish Giri Wins Open Section; Candidates Line-Up Takes Shape
In the Open section of the FIDE Grand Swiss, Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri emerged as the winner after defeating Hans Moke Niemann of the United States. Giri finished the tournament with eight points out of a possible 11. Matthias Bluebaum is expected to finish second and also qualify for the Candidates tournament.
As of now, the lineup for the Candidates includes Anish Giri and Matthias Bluebaum from this tournament, Hikaru Nakamura of the United States (qualifying on rating), R Praggnanandhaa (based on his tournament circuit performance), and Fabiano Caruana of the United States.
The remaining three spots will be filled from the World Chess Cup, scheduled to be held in Goa next month. The winner of the Candidates will earn the right to challenge reigning world champion D Gukesh.
Indian Representation In Candidates Strengthens
While only one Indian male player appears assured of a place in the men’s Candidates section, Indian representation in the women’s category continues to grow. Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy have already qualified after finishing first and second respectively in the previous women’s World Cup.
With Vaishali now joining them, there are three Indian women set to compete in the Candidates tournament, each aiming for a shot at the world women’s chess title.
Anish Giri commented on the competitiveness of qualification: "There are eight spots and there are more than eight great players. No matter the system you choose, it's going to be hard, because you are to squeeze in eight players out of 20."
Final Round Results (Indians unless specified):
Open: Matthias Bluebaum (Ger, 7.5) drew with Alireza Firouzja (Fra, 7.5); Anish Giri (Ned, 8) beat Hans Moke Niemann (Usa, 7); Arjun Erigaisi (7) drew with Vincent Keymer (Ger, 7); Abdusattorov Nodirbek (Uzb, 7) drew with Awonder Liang (Usa, 7); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 7) drew with Nihal Sarin (7); Andy Woodward (Usa, 7) drew with Yu Yangyi (Chn, 7); Vidit Gujrathi (7) drew with Abhimanyu Mishra (Usa, 7); Theodorou Nikolas (Gre, 6) drew with R Praggnanandhaa (6); Maxim Rodshtein (Isr, 5.5) lost to P Harikrishna (6.5); Parham Maghsoodloo (Iri, 5.5) drew with Aditya Mittal (5.5); Raunak Sadhwani (6) drew with Aram Hakobyan (Arm, 6); V Pranav (6.5) beat Lu Shanglei (Chn, 5.5); S L Narayanan (6) drew with Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (Tur, 6); Andrei Volokitin (Ukr, 5) lost to D Gukesh (6); Leon Luke Mendonca (5) drew with Alexander Grischuk (Fid, 5); Ihor Samunenkov (6) beat Abhimanyu Puranik (5); Alexander Donchenko (Ger, 4.5) drew with Murali Karthikeyan (4.5); Aryan Chopra (5.5) beat Jonas Buhl Bjerre (Den, 4.5); Divya Deshmukh (4.5) drew with Ivan Cheparinov (Bul, 4.5).
Women: Zhongyi Tan (Chn, 7.5) drew with R Vaishali (8); Kateryna Lagno (8) drew with Ulviyya Fataliyeva (Aze, 7); Irina Krush (Usa, 7) drew with Yuxin Song (Chn, 7.5); Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kaz, 7.5) drew with Anna Muzychuk (6.5); Mariya Muzychuk (Ukr, 7) beat Elina Danielian (Arm, 6); Alexandra Kosteniuk (Sui, 6.5) drew with Guo Qi (Chn, 6.5); Tsolakidou Stavroula (Gre, 6.5) beat Polina Shuvalova (Fid, 5.5); Antoaneta Stefanova (Bul, 5.5) lost to Mai Narva (Est, 6.5); Irina Bulmaga (5) drew with Vantika Agrawal (5); Carissa Yip (Usa, 6) lost to D Harika (6.5).
(With PTI inputs)
