The 20-year-old German, playing white, drew his match against Dutchman Jordan van Foreest, while results elsewhere confirmed his tournament victory.
Ace Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy once again demonstrated her strength in positional play as she defeated Polina Shuvalova of Russia in the fourth round of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Pune on Thursday.
Vaishali knew she had to win to remain in contention and her approach right from the start was in sync with the requirement of the tournament situation.
Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin's hopes of making to the Candidates tournament suffered a setback as he lost to Alireza Firouzja of France in the ninth round of the FIDE Grand Swiss, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Saturday.
While only one place seems assured for the Indians in the men's section, there are already three in the women's category who have made it to the Candidates.
Praggnanandhaa takes on a strong field at Grand Swiss, eyes Candidates berth
Vantika Agrawal humbled former World champion Anna Ushenina in the second round of FIDE Women's World Chess Cup in Batumi, Georgia, on Wednesday.
World Champion D Gukesh suffered his second straight defeat at the FIDE Grand Swiss, losing to Greece's Nikolas Theodorou in the sixth round in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Tuesday.
Vincent Keymer, Arjun Erigaisi play out draw, Awonder beats Pranav in wonderkid clash
World Champion D Gukesh went down to world's youngest-ever Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra of the US in the fifth round of the FIDE Grand Swiss.
Former women's World champion Susan Polgar believes Indian chess is riding a wave of success and predicted a bright future for the sport in the country.
R Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw by the world's youngest-ever Grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra of the United States.
With Vantika's hard-earned victory there are still five Indians left in the last 32 stage of this US$691,250 prize money event with an additional bonus of making it to the Women's candidates' tournament slated in 2026 for the top three finishers.
The men's team comprises Grandmasters D Gukesh, Gujrathi, Erigaisi, P Harikrishna and R Praggnanandhaa.
Divya Deshmukh came to the star-studded FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 in Batumi, Georgia, as an underdog, hoping to at least win one Grandmaster norm in her journey to become a GM in the future.
A former school principal of newly crowned chess champion from Nagpur Divya Deshmukh remembers her as a student with calm composure who started playing the board game when she was just five and also excelled in studies.
'She is now a role model for the upcoming young generation. And I am sure that this victory will definitely motivate and inspire the Indian women, and those who are coming up.'
'I wasn't just racing, I was paving the way for others.'
Divya Deshmukh earned the biggest success of her career by clinching the FIDE Women's Chess World Cup with a tie-break win over compatriot Koneru Humpy.
International Master Divya Deshmukh stormed into the final, defeating former world champion Zhongyi Tan of China in the second game of the semifinals and winning the mini-match 1.5-0.5 in the FIDE Women's World Chess Cup in Batumi, Georgia, on Wednesday.
Humpy, Jiner share lead at Pune leg Women's GP
On pure experience of playing big games, Humpy goes in the final as the favourite against compatriot Deshmukh.
Grandmaster Vantika Agrawal outclassed Lela Shohradeva of Turkmenistan in the return game of the first round to progress to the round of 64 of FIDE World Women's Chess Cup.
Koneru Humpy defeated China's Zhu Jiner to jump into sole lead with 5.5 points after the seventh round of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Pune on Monday.
Neither current World Champion D Gukesh nor former world champion Vishy Anand are the top rated Indian chess player.
Experience prevailed over youth as India's Koneru Humpy defeated compatriot Divya Deshmukh and China's Zhu Jiner emerged the sole leader in an eventful third round of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Pune on Wednesday.
India's Dronavalli Harika defeated former world champion Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria in the third round of the FIDE Grand Swiss chess tournament in Riga to grab a share of the lead.
Russians Volodar Murzin and Alexander Grischuk, along with Duda Jan-Kryzstof of Poland, share the lead with Arjun on seven points after the end of the second day and Round 9 of the championship, which will decide the best player of the planet after 13 games.
During the felicitation ceremony honoring the gold-medal winning teams, she heard Hanvika's voice calling out from the audience. Harika stepped off the stage, hugged her daughter, and carried her to the back of the hall.
World champion D Gukesh climbed to a career-high No 3 ranking, while compatriot R Praggnanandhaa broke back into the top 10 in the latest FIDE classical ratings released on Saturday.
India's chess ace Dronavalli Harika was among the several players who were allegedly sent sexually abusive mail during an event in Latvia in November last year.
Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy won the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024-25 (Pune leg) title on the basis of her superior tie-breaks over Zhu Jiner of China after the two players were tied for the top spot on Wednesday.
Harika Dronavalli, a seasoned player, fulfilled her lifelong dream of winning an Olympiad medal after two decades.
In the open section too the Indian men were poised for an easy victory against Hungary 'B' team. The hero of the day was Arjun Erigaise who played a brilliant attacking game against Peter Prohazska and ended with a checkmate after a queen sacrifice.
Tania Sachdev on Monday lamented the "lack of recognition" from the government of Delhi, prompting chief minister Atishi to reach out to her
Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi opened his campaign with four victories and a solitary defeat in the World Rapid Chess Championship and was tied fifth, even as defending champion Magnus Carlsen endured a frustrating day, managing to log just one victory in New York.
The Indian women's chess team etched their names in history by securing their maiden Chess Olympiad title, defeating Azerbaijan in a decisive 3.5-0.5 victory in Budapest.
World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen recorded a flawless performance, securing victories against S L Narayanan
Emulates mentor Visvanathan Anand, who had won the tournament back in 1986.
Harika had carried the Indian hopes nicely till the tie-breaker of the third round. However, she got a jolt in the first game of the rapid tie-break where both players had 25 minutes on their clock.
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