The final round of the FIDE Candidates 2026 tournament ended in a major milestone for India. Grandmaster Rameshbabu Vaishali is now the first Indian women chess player to win the FIDE Candidates title in Cyprus. The success came after she defeated Russia’s Kateryna Lagno in the final round on Wednesday, April 15.
With the win, Vaishali has also earned her qualification for the Women’s World Chess Championship finals. In the finals, she is set to face defending champion Ju Wenjun of China.
Going into the final round, Vaishali controlled the game throughout, along with a few missteps. The pressure was set for Lagno all along, and in the middle, she ended up going for Be6, which gave Vashali the advantage and went a pawn up. Lagno suffered in the end and gave up her resignation after the 47th move.
After Round 13, Vaishali was in a joint lead with Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva for 7.5 points each. But, after Assaubayeva went for a draw in her final round game against Divya Deshmukh, Vaishali road was cleared, and she successfully claimed the full point and one of the biggest successes of her career.
Vaishali had entered the tournament as the lowest-rated player, but her campaign was no less than a promising one. Her consistency and ability were reflected from the start, but her dominance was witnessed from the second half. She claimed the title with a total score of 8.5/14 points, including five wins, seven draws, and two losses.
The Indian women’s chess star had entered the tournament alongside her brother, R Praggnanandhaa. They became the world’s first sister-brother duo with the Grandmaster titles and to compete at a high-level qualifying championship event in the world. Her performance at the tournament has also earned her around 26 rating points and is towards the elite 2500 Elo mark.
FIDE Women’s Candidates 2026 Top 3 Final Standings
Vaishali Rameshbabu (IND): 8.5/14
Bibisara Assaubayeva (KAZ): 8.0/14
Zhu Jiner (CHN) & Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE): 7.5/14
