Vaishali Rameshbabu became India’s 84th grandmaster after exceeding 2500 in the 2023 IV Elllobregat Open. Vaishali is now India’s third female grandmaster, following Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli. Vaishali and her younger brother R. Praggnandhaa are currently the first sister-brother grandmaster pair.
She surpassed rating by defeating Turkish FM Tamer Tarik Selbes (2238) in the second round and has opened the tournament with two consecutive wins.
The 22-year-old already had three GM norms – Xtracon Open 2019, Fischer Memorial 2022, and Qatar Open 2023 – and needed only 4.5 ratings to break the 2500 level. With a live rating of 2501.5, she is currently the global number 11 in women’s ranking and India’s number two.
Vaishali won the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss 2023 and qualified for Candidates 2024 in a remarkable year.