India’s R Vaishali in action during Round 14 of FIDE Women’s Candidates 2026. | Photo Credit: Michal Walusza

Grandmaster R Vaishali became the first Indian to win the FIDE Women’s Candidates title, after she beat Russia’s Kateryna Lagno in the final round on Wednesday.

With this win, Vaishali has now qualified for the Women’s World Chess Championship final, where she will take on defending champion Ju Wenjun of China.

Heading into the round, Vaishali was in joint-lead with Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva at 7.5 points each, with the prospect of a nerve-wracking tiebreaker looming large.

But, with Assaubayeva settling for a draw with Divya Deshmukh, the stage was set for Vaishali to swoop in and claim the full point and clinch the biggest triumph of her career.

Vaishali did so by slowly piling on the pressure against Lagno. The decisive moment came just as the middle game was about to kick in courtesy of Lagno’s 11. be6, an error that allowed Vaishali to go a pawn up.

The game largely stayed within Vaishali’s grasp, despite a few missteps. With pressure mounting, Lagno began to err more frequently in the endgame and eventually resigned after the 47th move.

Published on Apr 15, 2026