FIDE Grand Swiss: Vaishali makes history by winning title again to earn Candidates spot; Gukesh ends event with victory

A sweet moment after Vaishali won the Grand Swiss title and met her mother and brother Praggnanandhaa outside the playing arena.

Her mother Nagalakshmi handed her the phone with her grandmother on the other side.

World champion Gukesh Dommaraju had a forgettable event, ending on the 41st rank in a 116-player field. He had a run of six games where he did not win a single game, losing three in a row at one point. But he did manage to end the tournament with a victory, Gabriel Sargissian, and Andrei Volokitin, both rated in the 2600s.

#6 Arjun Erigaisi - 7 points

#9 Nihal Sarin - 7 points

#15 Vidit Santosh Gujrathi - 7 points

#22 Pranav V - 6.5 points

#26 Pentala Harikrishna - 6.5 points

#35 Praggnanandhaa R - 6 points

#37 Aditya Mittal - 6 points

#39 SL Narayanan - 6 points

#41 Gukesh D - 6 points

#48 Raunak Sadhwani - 6 points

#58 Aryan Chopra - 5.5 points

#73 Abhimanyu Puranik - 5 points

#75 Leon Luke Mendonca - 5 points

#81 Divya Deshmukh 5 points

#102 Murali Karthikeyan 4.5 points

Rank Name Rating Pts.

1 Giri, Anish 2746 8

2 Bluebaum, Matthias 2671 7.5

3 Firouzja, Alireza 2754 7.5

4 Keymer, Vincent 2751 7.5

5 Mishra, Abhimanyu 2611 7

6 Erigaisi, Arjun 2771 7

7 Woodward, Andy 2557 7

8 Niemann, Hans Moke 2733 7

9 Nihal, Sarin 2693 7

10 Abdusattorov, Nodirbek 2748 7

India's top grandmaster Praggnanandhaa, who was the top seed at the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament, has hailed his elder sister Vaishali as an inspiration after she claimed the title at Samarkand.

"So proud of you, akka! Winning the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss is such an incredible achievement. The confidence and determination you’ve shown throughout the tournament has been truly inspiring. Big congratulations on this amazing victory!" Pragg posted in a tweet.

A remarkable FIDE Grand Swiss ends with a draw for Divya Deshmukh! She has beaten two grandmasters---Amin Bassem, who is the best grandmaster in Africa; and Serbian GM Velimir Ivic---and held world champion Gukesh to a draw after a six-hour grind. There were also draw against players like Alexander Donchenko, Murali Kartikeyan, Gabrial Sargissian, Aleksandar Indjic, and Ivan Cheparinov.

Divya ends the tournament with a rating gain of 19 points! Here are all of her results at the event in Samarkand

Here are all the moves from Divya's draw against Cheparinov

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. d4 cxd4 6. cxd4 d6 7. Bc4 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Qe2 a6 10. Nc3 dxe5 11. dxe5 Nxc3 12. bxc3 b5 13. Bd3 Bb7 14. a4 Nd7 15. axb5 Nc5 16. Bc2 axb5 17. Be3 Qc7 18. Bd4 Qc6 19. h4 h5 20. Rfb1 Rxa1 21. Rxa1 Ra8 22. Rb1 Ra5 23. c4 bxc4 24. Qxc4 Nd7 25. Qb3 Ba8 26. Qd3 g6 27. Bb2 Rc5 28. Ra1 Rxc2 29. Rxa8+ Nf8 30. Ra6 Qc5 31. Bd4 Rc1+ 32. Kh2 Qd5 33. Qe3 Rc4 34. Ra7 Nd7 35. Kh3 Kg7 36. Qd2 Bd8 37. Be3 Qxd2 38. Bxd2 Bc7 39. Ba5 Bxa5 40. Rxa5 Rf4 41. Ra3 Re4 42. Re3 Rxe3 43. fxe3 Nc5 44. g3 Kf8 45. Kg2 Ke7 46. Ng5 Nd3 47. Nf3 Nc5 48. Ng5 Nd3

Vidit Gujrathi has managed to end the Grand Swiss with a draw against the highly-rated prodigy, Abhimanyu Mishra, who is the youngest grandmaster in chess history.

Vidit ends the tournament with just one defeat --- to Vincent Keymer. He played out six draws against players of the calibre of Vasyl Ivanchuk, Abhimanyu Puranik and Alexandr Predke.

A decent event for Vidit.

Here are all the moves from the game:

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. h4 c5 6. h5 Nc6 7. hxg6 fxg6 8. g3 Bg7 9. Bg2 Bf5 10. Nh4 Nxc3 11. dxc3 Qxd1+ 12. Kxd1 O-O-O+ 13. Ke1 Bd7 14. Nf3 h6 15. Be3 b6 16. Rc1 a5 17. Nd2 Kc7 18. f4 Bf5 19. a4 e5 20. Bh3 Bxh3 21. Rxh3 Ne7 22. Nc4 Nd5 23. Bd2 exf4 24. Bxf4+ Nxf4 25. gxf4 g5 26. fxg5 hxg5 27. Rxh8 Rxh8 28. Kd2 Kc6 29. Rg1 b5 30. axb5+ Kxb5 31. Nd6+

Anish Giri defeats Hans Niemann to put one foot into the Candidates tournament! In what was a must-win game, Anish defeated Hans in a 46-move game.

"It was a very difficult situation for him. He was in a must-win situation, so was I. If he was in a must-win and I was in a must-draw, it would be a lot easier for him. He could have just tried to avoid draws at all costs and go for broke. But going for broke now is not the best strategy," Anish Giri told FIDE after the game.

Here are all the moves

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 Bb4 5. Qc2 Bxc3 6. Qxc3 Qe7 7. a3 d5 8. d4 exd4 9. Nxd4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 c5 11. Qh4 Be6 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Bb5+ Bd7 14. Qxe7+ Nxe7 15. Be2 Rc8 16. f3 f6 17. Kf2 Kf7 18. Rd1 Be6 19. h4 b6 20. e4 Nc6 21. Be3 Na5 22. Rd6 Rhe8 23. g4 Nb7 24. Rd2 Na5 25. Rd6 Nb7 26. Rdd1 Na5 27. Rac1 Ke7 28. Ba6 Rcd8 29. Rxd8 Rxd8 30. b4 Nb3 31. Rc3 Rd6 32. bxc5 bxc5 33. Rxb3 Bxb3 34. Bxc5 Kd7 35. Bxd6 Kxd6 36. g5 Be6 37. Ke3 Kc5 38. Kf4 Kd4 39. gxf6 gxf6 40. a4 h6 41. a5 Bd7 42. Be2 Kc5 43. e5 Kd5 44. exf6 Ke6 45. f7 Kxf7 46. Ke5

Here's how the game played out

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Today, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich made the ceremonial first move for the game featuring Divya Deshmukh. Divya has defeated two grandmasters already in the event, besides holding world champion Gukesh Dommaraju to a draw after six hours of relentless chess.

At the event, interestingly, Divya has been given a fixed board---board 57---which makes her the only player at the event to have a fixed board.

Divya's opponent today is the tricky Ivan Cheparinov, who have been a second to players like Alireza Firouzja.

Vaishali Rameshbabu wins the FIDE Grand Swiss title for the second time in a row, and also secures her second straight FIDE Candidates spot.

Vaishali held former women's world champion Tan Zhongyi, who has already qualified for the Candidates, to a draw in the 11th round of the event to seal her title and the Candidates spot.

A very muted response from Vaishali, just a handshake after the draw is agreed and off she goes.

here are all the moves: 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Ndb4 8. Nb5 Bf5 9. O-O a6 10. N5a3 Qxd1 11. Rxd1 g6 12. Bd2 Rd8 13. Nc3 Bg7 14. Nc4 Bc2 15. Rdc1 b5 16. a3 bxc4 17. axb4 Nxb4 18. Nd5 Nxd5 19. Rxc2 O-O 20. Rxa6 e6 21. e4 Nc7 22. Rb6 Rb8 23. Rxb8 Rxb8 24. Bc1 c3 25. bxc3 Nb5 26. Rb2 Ra8 27. Rxb5 Ra1 28. Rb8+ Bf8 29. Bf1 Rxc1 30. Rc8 Kg7 31. Kg2 Bb4 32. c4 Rc2 33. Kf3 Rc3+ 34. Ke2 Rc1 35. Bh3 Rc2+ 36. Kf1 Rc1+ 37. Kg2 h5 38. Rc7 Kf8 39. f4 Rc2+ 40. Kg1 Bc3 41. Rc8+ Kg7 42. Rc7 Kf8 43. Rc8+ Kg7

This is how the game played out

Harika defeated Carissa Yip in the final game of the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament to end with 6.5 points. Playing with black pieces, Harika started to exchange pieces with gusto to complicate the position rather than to simplify it as chess reasoning dictates.

The game saw Harika hold the edge from the 19th move itself. But then she started to take advantage of the fact that most of Yip's pieces were stationed on the queenside of the board while the king was being protected just by two pawns!

Just look at how Harika's pieces zoom in for the kill before the American star resigned!

Here are all the moves from the game:

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. a4 a5 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 d6 8. Nbd2 Be6 9. b3 Nd7 10. Bb2 Bf6 11. Nf1 Nb6 12. Ne3 Nxc4 13. bxc4 g6 14. Nd5 Bg7 15. Nd2 b6 16. Rf1 f5 17. f4 Qd7 18. Qc1 Rae8 19. Bc3 fxe4 20. fxe5 dxe5 21. dxe4 Nd4 22. Re1 Bh6 23. Qb2 Bxd5 24. exd5 Bxd2 25. Bxd2 Qg4 26. Red1 Ne2+ 27. Kh1 Rf2

Another draw! The game between Nihal Sarin and Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave ends in a draw. The thicket of players who could win the second Candidates spot is thinning out.

There was a time when Nihal was leading the FIDE Grand Swiss. He ends the tournament with 7 points.

This is how the game played out:

Here are all the moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3 O-O 9. Nc3 Rb8 10. h3 h6 11. Nd5 Re8 12. c3 Bf8 13. Nxf6+ Qxf6 14. Nh2 Qg6 15. h4 Be6 16. h5 Bxb3 17. hxg6 Bxd1 18. gxf7+ Kxf7 19. Rxd1 Rbd8 20. Be3 d5 21. Nf3 dxe4 22. dxe4 Rxd1+ 23. Rxd1 Bd6 24. b4 a5 25. Kf1 Ke6 26. Ke2 Ne7 27. Rh1 Ng8 28. Nh4 Nf6 29. f3 Ra8 30. g4 axb4 31. axb4

The reaction you have when your buddy secures a Candidates spot! A clip shared on their social media handles by FIDE shows the reaction of Russian players Ian Nepomniachtchi and Daniil Dubov when they spot that Kateryna Lagno has accepted a draw, which secures her spot in the Candidates tournament.

While Nepo got up from his own seat to shake the hands of Lagno, Dubov waited until Lagno had left the board before giving her a hug.

India's Aditya Mittal holds one-time tournament leader Parham Maghsoodloo to a draw in 27 moves. Parham lost three of his last five games in the tournament. The remaining two games, including the one on Monday, he drew. That led to him slipping out from the top of the standings. And it was a decline that was started by Nihal Sarin, who handed him a defeat in a mad time scramble in round 7.

Here are all the moves: 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 c5 4. cxd5 cxd4 5. Qa4+ Bd7 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. Qxd5 Nf6 8. Qd1 Bc5 9. Nf3 O-O 10. e3 Nc6 11. Be2 Qe7 12. O-O Rfd8 13. Qc2 Nb4 14. Qb1 Bc6 15. a3 Nbd5 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. b4 Bd6 18. Qf5 Be4 19. Qg5 h6 20. Qh4 Be5 21. Ra2 Qe6 22. Rd2 Bc3 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 24. Qg3 Nh5 25. Qh4 Nf6 26. Qg3 Nh5 27. Qh4 Nf6

Here is how the game played out

Nihal Sarin has 27 minutes less on his clock compared to his opponent Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. While the Indian has 38 minutes left as he contemplates his 25th move with black pieces, the Frenchman has an hour and seven minutes on his clock!

Here are all the moves so far: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3 O-O 9. Nc3 Rb8 10. h3 h6 11. Nd5 Re8 12. c3 Bf8 13. Nxf6+ Qxf6 14. Nh2 Qg6 15. h4 Be6 16. h5 Bxb3 17. hxg6 Bxd1 18. gxf7+ Kxf7 19. Rxd1 Rbd8 20. Be3 d5 21. Nf3 dxe4 22. dxe4 Rxd1+ 23. Rxd1 Bd6 24. b4

Look at how the game has played out so far

Hans Niemann started Monday as one of the players who was best suited to win a Candidates spot in the open section at FIDE Grand Swiss.

“Slept well. Changed hotels. My hotel was so bad I couldn’t sleep so I just switched to a nicer hotel and I feel great,” Niemann told FIDE in an interview before the 11th round. “Never going back to that hotel again in my life.”

Asked if changing hotel rooms will help with the results today, he said “Yeah definitely.”

Just 10 moves on the board but Vidit Gujrathi is already low on time. He has less than an hour on the clock and is already a knight down compared to the Indian-origin teenager who now represents USA.

The young Abhimanyu is the youngest grandmaster in chess history. In Samarkand, he's had one of his best tournaments personally. But he finds himself in a must-win situation against Vidit, who, for the record, was the winning at last edition of Grand Swiss.

Here's what the board looks like

As Vidit contemplates whether to pick off the knight on c3 with the b pawn or the d pawn, Mishra leaves him alone on the board. Capturing the knight with the pawn on d2 will mean a quick queen trade off.

Here are all the move so far: 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. h4 c5 6. h5 Nc6 7. hxg6 fxg6 8. g3 Bg7 9. Bg2 Bf5 10. Nh4 Nxc3

The FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 chess tournament is in its business end with the 11th and final round underway in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Monday. The Indian duo of Arjun Erigaisi (Open Section) and R. Vaishali (Women’s Section) are running for the top two places and a big contenders in the race for the Candidates Tournament 2026 spot.

CLICK HERE to check out all the qualification scenarios for Arjun and Vaishali’s Candidates qualification.

Kateryna Lagno, one of the front runners of the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss tournament, has taken a quick, 30-move draw against her opponent, Ulviyya Fataliyeva, an international master.

The draw means Vaishali can win the tournament if she defeats Tan Zhongyi today!

"Today I chose a line that is known to be a very safe one. Of course I am happy with my results here, I won five games and didn't lose a single game. Looks like I have qualified for the Candidates, which was my main goal here. Of course, it would have been nice to win the tournament, but if not, it's not so important anymore," Lagno told FIDE.

Here's how the game played out:

Here are all the moves from the Lagno game: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. a3 c5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. dxc5 Nxc5 11. Be5 Bf5 12. Be2 Bf6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Nd4 Ne6 15. O-O Nxd4 16. Qxd4 Qxd4 17. exd4 Rac8 18. Rac1 Rxc1 19. Rxc1 Rc8 20. Rxc8+ Bxc8 21. f3 f6 22. Kf2 Kf7 23. Ke3 Ke7 24. Bd3 h6 25. Bc2 g5 26. g3 Be6 27. Bd3 Bd7 28. Bc2 Be6 29. Bd3 Bd7 30. Bc2 Be6

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the final round of the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament from Samarkand. We have an exciting final round ahead of us, with as many as 18 Indians in action.

But all eyes will be trained on two Indian players -- Vaishali Rameshbabu and Arjun Erigaisi who can qualify to the Candidates today if things go their way.

Follow our live coverage to stay updated on all the results from the Grand Swiss.