India’s Vaishali wins Women’s Candidates event, sets up chess title match with China's Ju Wenjun
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Vaishali Rameshbabu ended the 14-game Women’s Candidates Tournament in Cyprus with five wins and two losses.
PHOTO: TAMIL MURASU
DeeperDive is a beta AI feature. Refer to full articles for the facts.
India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu won chess’ Women’s Candidates Tournament on April 15, defeating Kateryna Lagno to secure a World Championship showdown with reigning champion Ju Wenjun of China.
Six players were still in the race for first place heading into the final round, with Vaishali and Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva tied on 7.5 points. Vaishali finished on 8.5.
The 24-year-old grandmaster ended the 14-game tournament in Cyprus with five wins and two losses, finishing half a point ahead of Assaubayeva, who drew her final game against India’s Divya Deshmukh.
Ju has held the title since 2018 after defeating fellow Chinese grandmaster Tan Zhongyi.
She has since defended her crown successfully on multiple occasions, beating Lagno in 2018, Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina in 2020, China’s Lei Tingjie in 2023, and Tan in 2025.
Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov clinched victory in the open category with a round to spare, winning six of his 13 matches and losing none to set up a World Championship match against India’s title holder Gukesh Dommaraju. REUTERS
