“There’ll be pressure once the thing starts” - R. Vaishali on qualifying for the Candidates
R. Vaishali, the third Indian woman to achieve the title of Grandmaster, saw a meteoric rise in her career in 2023. After years spent in the shadow of her younger brother R. Praggnanandhaa, she finally found her footing last year.
2023 kicked off with the Tamil youngster finishing 12th in the Tata Steel Challengers, before receiving her final GM norm at the Qatar Masters Open where she finished with 5/9 and a performance rating of 2609.
The highlight of the year for R. Vaishali came when she won the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss 2023 without dropping a single game. This gave her an automatic berth at the upcoming Women's Candidates Tournament.
Speaking to Sportstar about her feelings heading into the prestigious event, the 22-year old said:
“When I was playing Grand Swiss, I think no one knew about it. It was after the result that people came to know. But Candidates is not like that. Everyone will be watching. So, I think there’ll be pressure once the thing starts. I mean once we get closer to it. But at the moment I’m more excited for it.”
“I’m excited to go there and play. But obviously the responsibility has increased. Two Indians are playing there and I want to do the best for the country. Many will be watching,” she added.
R. Vaishali on the sibling rivalry with her brother
While R. Vaishali might be a well-established name in the chess world now, there was a time when she was overshadowed by her younger brother, R. Praggnanandhaa.
She started playing before her brother, was quickly pushed to the sidelines when her brother became the youngest person to achieve the title of International Master. Two-years later, Praggnanandhaa became the second-youngest Grand Master in the world, and was hailed across the globe as a child prodigy.
Speaking on what she felt like having to watch her brother get international acclaim as she was ignored, R. Vaishali told Sportstar:
“At home and everywhere, he was getting all the attention. Normally, like an elder sibling, you get this feeling, right? Like, you want attention. I mean, somewhere I think I was struggling with those emotions.
“Some function you go to, and they see Pragg’s results and they suddenly ask you, ‘are you also a player?’ But I’m the one playing for many years and it sometimes hurts you!”
However, those feelings are a thing of the past now. Vaishali admits that while it took her some time, she's now overcome any negative feelings she harbored towards her younger sibling:
“I understood he is exceptional, working very hard for it, he loves the game so much, and is very passionate about it. Once I started focusing on my work and my things, I was improving myself. So, later it (Pragg doing well) didn’t bother me so much.”