The build-up to the women’s section of the FIDE Candidates 2026 was dominated by Koneru Humpy’s shock withdrawal a week before the tournament, citing personal safety concerns amid the conflict in the Middle East.

Attention then shifted to Divya Deshmukh. One of the youngest participants in the field, she had qualified by winning the Women’s World Cup 2025 and arrived as one of the favourites. Her recent form added to the expectations, having finished third at the Prague Chess Festival in March 2026 to break into the women’s top 10 for the first time in her career.

Much of the Indian focus revolved around these two Grandmasters. Yet, as the Candidates drew to a close, neither of them were in the scheme of things, with Divya falling out of title contention after a poor second half.

Away from the spotlight, R. Vaishali entered her second Candidates tournament as the lowest-rated player in the field, with a rating of 2470 and a world ranking of 19. She had qualified by winning the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss, but few had placed her among the leading contenders.

What followed was a tale of two halves for the Indian Grandmaster, who would go on to script history by winning the Candidates, becoming the first Indian to claim the women’s title, and earning the right to challenge Ju Wenjun for the World Championship crown.

RELATED | Full list of FIDE Women’s Candidates winners

“Fantastic result. She pulled it off in the end, after a slightly bumpy ride in the final three rounds. But she showed the most stability, and Vaishali hung in there,” said five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand on ChessBase India’s live stream.

She made a slow start, drawing her first four games before suffering her first defeat to Zhu Jiner. At that stage, both Divya and Vaishali were on two points and placed in the bottom half of the standings, while Anna Muzychuk and Zhu were setting the pace.

Vaishali gained momentum with a win over Tan Zhongyi in Round 7, a result that lifted her to second in the standings behind Muzychuk. But, the 24-year-old wasn’t entirely happy with the result.

“It was a horrible game. I don’t deserve this point at all. She just blundered towards the end. It was a bad game from the start, everything went wrong from the beginning,” said Vaishali after her win over Tan.

That game had seemed headed for a draw until Tan began advancing her pawns on the flank, leaving her king exposed. Vaishali capitalised, coordinating her rooks and king to force resignation.

It marked her second successive win, following a victory over Kateryna Lagno in Round 6. She then went on to beat compatriot Divya in Round 9, and Aleksandra Goryachkina in Round 11, building steam towards the finish.

Zhu dealt her another defeat, in Round 12. But, a draw against Tan in the penultimate round set up a final-day decider.

The Indian Grandmaster, who had begun the tournament quietly, held her nerve in Round 14, defeating Kateryna Lagno to seal a memorable triumph.

“Good opening preparation caught Lagno off guard in Round 14. It was a great start and a strong fight, and eventually she got the job done. With all the final-day pressure, it would have been really hard, so it’s a big relief in the end,” Anand added.

Published on Apr 16, 2026