R Vaishali successfully defended her Women’s Grand Swiss title in Samarkand on Monday, thereby qualifying for the prestigious Women’s Candidates Tournament, earning her a second shot at the World Championship match in just two years.
Only the third Indian female Grandmaster, Vaishali has carried a tag of inconsistency and a tendency to collapse, but has triumphed in a format that demands utmost consistency. To win an event of this stature requires great preparation, sustained momentum and a measure of luck.
Until now, no player had managed to defend their title in the relatively young history of this tournament across all categories, but the 24-year-old from Chennai broke that jinx by keeping China’s Tan Zhongyi to a draw with black pieces which turned out to be enough for her to win the event ahead of Russian Kateryna Lagno.
So proud of you, akka! 🏆
Winning the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss is such an incredible achievement. The confidence and determination you’ve shown throughout the tournament has been truly inspiring.Big congratulations on this amazing victory! ♟️ pic.twitter.com/u6gMGaOgdw
— Praggnanandhaa (@rpraggnachess) September 15, 2025
Asked to choose between her 2023 triumph and her victory in Samarkand, Vaishali found it impossible to pick one.
“The Grand Swiss victory in 2023 came at the right moment. I didn’t play well for a long time, made my final GM norm, and went on to get a fourth GM norm during the event. A lot of things fell into place in the ’23 event, and it completely changed my year,” she told the broadcasters after winning the tournament.
“This year, again, things were not going my way even though I was working very hard. I dropped a lot of rating points, so this win is very crucial going forward,” she added.
After qualifying for the 2024 Toronto Candidates, Vaishali was given a reality check, losing four matches in a row. Fighting back after a mid-tournament break, she bounced back with five consecutive wins to finish joint-second alongside Koneru Humpy and China’s Lei Tingjie.
INTERACTIVE: R. Vaishali vs Tan Zhongyi during Round 11 of Grand Swiss
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Meanwhile, a streak of heartbreaks continues to haunt Arjun Erigaisi, who just can’t seem to get over the finish line despite leading the race.
Arjun finished with seven points, half a point adrift of Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum, who came second to guarantee himself a Candidates spot. It is a fifth legitimate chance missed for the player from Warangal.
It started with the FIDE World Cup 2023, where after smooth sailing to the quarterfinals, he met his good friend R. Praggnanandhaa for a place in the semis and a Candidates berth. It was Praggnanandhaa who handed Arjun his first heartbreak.
Divya Deshmukh and Arjun Erigaisi the during final round of FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 chess tournament in Samarkand. (FIDE/Michal Walusza)
Later, D Gukesh moved ahead of him in the 2023 FIDE Circuit leaderboard after winning the Chennai Grand Masters event on tiebreaks.
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Just as in Samarkand, Arjun was 0.5 points behind the second-placed finisher, Hikaru Nakamura, at the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss. Although Arjun breached the elusive 2800-rating mark last year, it was Frenchman Alireza Firouzja who qualified for the Candidates through the highest-rating path.
Defending champion Vidit Gujrathi, Nihal Sarin and Arjun tied for third place with seven points at Samarkand. World Champion Gukesh, endured a tough event and finished 40th in a field of 116 players with 6 points. Divya Deshmukh had an impressive outing competing in the open category, notching up five points in 11 rounds to finish above the likes of Levon Aronian and Alexander Grischuk.
