Vaishali Rameshbabu: One Half of Chess History
The Rameshbabu household in Chennai produced not one grandmaster but two. Vaishali Rameshbabu and her younger brother R Praggnanandhaa became the first brother-and-sister pair in the history of chess to both hold the grandmaster title — a record that says as much about a family's discipline as about two extraordinary talents.
A Family Pursuit
Born on 21 June 2001 in Chennai, Vaishali came to chess first; her brother followed, and the two pushed each other upward through years of study and competition. The arc of her junior career was studded with titles: she won the Girls' World Youth Chess Championship at under-12 in 2012 and again at under-14 in 2015. In 2013, aged twelve, she scored a memorable win over Magnus Carlsen in a simultaneous exhibition in Chennai, held ahead of that year's World Championship match.
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Vaishali earned the Woman Grandmaster title in 2018 and the International Master title in 2021, then set her sights on the open grandmaster norm — the same title men compete for, with no gender qualifier. In December 2023, at the IV El Llobregat Open in Spain, she crossed the 2500 Elo rating threshold and completed the final requirement, becoming India's third woman grandmaster and its 84th overall.
A Champion in Her Own Right
Her results extend well beyond the family headline. She is a two-time winner of the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss, taking the title in 2023 and 2025, and earned a bronze medal at the 2024 Women's World Blitz Championship. She was part of the Indian women's team that won gold at the 45th Chess Olympiad, and she has competed in the Women's Candidates Tournament — chess's qualifying event for a shot at the world title.
Why She Endures
It would be easy to file Vaishali under a single trivia line about a sibling record. The fuller story is of a player who reached the open grandmaster title on her own merit and has kept winning elite events since. Alongside her brother she has helped make Chennai synonymous with the new generation of Indian chess — and her career, like his, is still being written.
Achievements
- Became a chess grandmaster in 2023 — India's third woman and 84th player overall to hold the title.
- With brother R Praggnanandhaa, formed the first brother-and-sister pair in history to both be grandmasters.
- Won the Girls' World Youth Chess Championship at under-12 (2012) and under-14 (2015).
- Won the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss in 2023 and again in 2025.
- Won gold with the Indian women's team at the 45th Chess Olympiad.
