In the chess circuit, an argument can be made regarding the toughest way or a particular format to determine a worthy champion of any tournament. Is it the knockout system like the FIDE World Cup, which offers practically no margin for error yet gives a chance for a comeback with the reverse colour? Is it the Swiss format of FIDE Grand Swiss, where you are unaware of your next opponent and are bound to face only in-form players on equal terms, as winners play winners after each round? Is it the round-robin, like the Candidates, where you know your set of opponents but have limited time to prepare for each? Or is it the one-on-one battle, demanding endless preparation against a single rival, where you must keep throwing the hammer hard in a process that ultimately determines the World Champion? The beauty of it all is that to become a world champion, you must go through and partially overcome every challenge in any format thrown your way to be called the world’s best. On Monday, in the ancient city of Samarkand, famed as an epicentre of the old Silk Route, R. Vaishali overcame one of these challenges. She triumphed in an extremely tricky Swiss format, unaware of her next opponent after every round until the very end, to successfully defend her Women’s Grand Swiss title in a tournament that is notoriously tough to win. The result ensures Vaishali will once again grace the prestigious Women’s Candidates Tournament, earning her second realistic shot at the World Championship in just two years. 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! ♟️ pic.twitter.com/u6gMGaOgdw — Praggnanandhaa (@rpraggnachess) September 15, 2025 This is a significant achievement for a player like Vaishali. Despite being only the third Indian female Grandmaster and one of the country's strongest women's chess players, she has carried a tag of inconsistency, at times prone to a downward tilt and a tendency to collapse. Ironically, she championed the format that demands the most consistency. To win an event of this stature requires deep preparation, sustained momentum, and a measure of luck. Vaishali made sure to wash away all the old tags, removing a big monkey from her back. Until now, not one player had managed to defend their title in the relatively young history of this tournament across all categories, but the 24-year-old from Chennai has successfully broken that jinx. INTERACTIVE: R. Vaishali vs Tan Zhongyi during Round 11 of Grand Swiss Asked to choose between her 2023 triumph and her victory in Samarkand, Vaishali found it impossible to pick one. “The Grand Swiss victory in 2023 came at the very right moment. I didn't play well for a long time, made my final GM norm, and went on to get a fourth GM norm during the event. A lot of things fell into place in the '23 event, and it completely changed my year,” she said to the broadcasters after winning the tournament. “This year, again, things were not going my way even though I was working very hard but somehow the results were not coming. I dropped a lot of rating points, so this win is very crucial going forward,” she added. After qualifying for the 2024 Toronto Candidates, Vaishali was given a reality check, losing four games in a row. Fighting back after a mid-tournament break, she changed the entire outlook of her performance by securing five consecutive wins to finish joint-second alongside Koneru Humpy and China’s Lei Tingjie. She said these tough experiences forged her resilience. “A lot of experience in the last two years and many tough tournaments helped me get stronger. For example, the Candidates, where I lost four games in a row, I believe those tough moments helped me get better and stronger, both as a player and as a person,” she said. Meanwhile, a streak of heartbreaks continues to haunt Arjun Erigaisi, who just can’t seem to get over the finish line after leading the race. To give context, Arjun finished with seven points, just half a point adrift of Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum, who came second to guarantee himself a Candidates' spot. This near-miss continues to bother the Warangal wunderkind, as it was a fifth legitimate chance missed. It started with the FIDE World Cup 2023, where after smooth sailing to the quarterfinals, he met his good friend R. Praggnanandhaa for a place in the semis and a Candidates berth. It was Praggnanandhaa who handed Arjun his first heartbreak. Later, Gukesh moved ahead of him in the 2023 FIDE Circuit leaderboard after winning the Chennai Grand Masters event on tiebreaks. Just as in Samarkand, Arjun was 0.5 points behind the second-placed finisher, Hikaru Nakamura, at the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss. Although Arjun breached the elusive 2800-rating mark last year, it was Frenchman Alireza Firouzja who qualified for the previous Candidates through the highest-rating path. Defending champion Vidit Gujrathi, Nihal Sarin, and Arjun all tied for third place with seven points. The reigning World Champion, D. Gukesh, endured a tough event and finished 40th in a field of 116 players with 6 points. Divya Deshmukh had an impressive outing competing against male players, notching up five points in 11 rounds to finish above the likes of Levon Aronian and Alexander Grischuk.
