Vaishali defends FIDE Women's Grand Swiss title, qualifies for Candidates

The Candidates tourney will be held in 2026.

R Vaishali.

Credit: FIDE

Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali defended her FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss tourney and earned a berth for the Candidates tournament to be held in 2026.

The 24-year-old became the third Indian after Koneru Humpy and Divya Desmukh to qualify for the Candidates tournament.

Vaishali drew her final-round clash against China’s Tan Zhongyi to finish the tournament with 8 points from 11 rounds.