Grand Swiss 2025: R Vaishali defends title; qualifies for 2026 Candidates

Indian Grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu successfully defended her 2025 FIDE Women's Grand Swiss crown and qualified for the 2026 Women's Candidates on Monday.

Playing with the black pieces against China's GM Tan Zhongyi in the final round, Vaishali played out a 43-move draw in the English opening.

The 24-year-old Vaishali was never really in any trouble as the two players played out an extremely theoretical game.

The queens were exchanged as early as the 11th move and the game never really had any spice for either Vaishali or Tan to push for a win.

The draw meant that Vaishali finishes the tournament with 8 points out of a possible 11.

Kateryna Lagno also ended the tournament with 8 points after playing out a draw in her final round, but finished second after an inferior tiebreak score to the Indian.

This is Vaishali's second consecutive title win and Candidates qualification for the Candidates at the FIDE Grand Swiss.

In the previous edition, India had swept both the men's and women's titles at the FIDE Grand Swiss, with Vidit Gujrathi winning the latter.

No Candidates spot for India in the Open section of the FIDE Grand Swiss, as Arjun Erigaisi & Nihal Sarin both finish inside the top 10.