Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali recently claimed victory in the women’s qualifier at the World Blitz Championship, advancing to the quarterfinals with an impressive performance.
This triumph came as a result of her remarkable consistency and skill, as she finished the tournament with a total of 9.5 points from 11 rounds. Vaishali’s performance was highlighted by three draws, but her dominant play in the remaining rounds ensured her victory.
Russian player Kateryna Lagno closely followed Vaishali, scoring 8.5 points. Meanwhile, six other qualifiers scored 8 points each. Despite her strong showing, Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy was eliminated due to a poor tiebreaker, even though she met the required points criteria.
Humpy, who had previously impressed with a gold medal-winning performance at the event, finished ninth in the women’s section.
In the open section of the tournament, there was a tie for first place among ten players, including world number one Magnus Carlsen. Carlsen, while drawing six of his 13 games, finished among the co-leaders thanks to his ability to secure points when needed.
Russian Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi clinched the top spot in the open section with a score of 9.5 points, benefiting from the best tiebreaker. Following him were Fabiano Caruana from the United States in second place and Carlsen in third.
Despite some promising starts from Indian players, none managed to make it to the top eight. Erigaisi Arjun, for example, began the tournament strongly, securing victories in his first five rounds.
However, he faltered towards the end, ultimately finishing with a disappointing seven points. R Praggnanandhaa, on the other hand, performed well, finishing with 8.5 points. Unfortunately, a last-round loss to Russian player Daniil Dubov ended his hopes of qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Vaishali’s journey to the top was marked by key victories, including back-to-back wins against Grandmasters Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia and Valentina Gunina of Russia.
These wins, especially in rounds seven and eight, provided the much-needed momentum for the Indian player, allowing her to comfortably secure the top spot in the women’s section.
With her strong performance, Vaishali will now face Chinese Grandmaster Zhu Jiner in the quarterfinals. This match will be a crucial one, as Vaishali looks to continue her stellar run in the World Blitz Championship.
In terms of Indian player standings, Praggnanandhaa was the highest-ranked, finishing with 8.5 points. Other notable Indian performances came from Raunak Sadhwani with 8 points, Arjun Erigaisi with 7 points, and Aravindh Chithambaram, V Pranav, and Divya Deshmukh, all finishing with 7 points.
In the women’s section, Vaishali’s 9.5 points saw her clinch the top spot, while Humpy finished ninth with 8 points. Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agarwal, and D Harika all placed in the 7-point range.
The full list of qualifiers for both the open and women’s sections is as follows: In the open category, the top eight players included Ian Nepomniachtchi, Volodar Murzin, Fabiano Caruana, Hans Niemann Moke, Wesley So, Magnus Carlsen, Jan-Kryzsztof Duda, and Alireza Firoujza.
For the women’s category, the qualifiers included R Vaishali, Lei Tingjie, Wenjun Ju, Zhu Jiner, Kateryna Lagno, Valentina Gunina, Carissa Yip, and Bibisara Assaubayeva.
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