Vaishali Rameshbabu becomes India’s 84th grandmaster

Vaishali Rameshbabu has become India’s 84th grandmaster after surpassing 2500 rating during the 2023 IV Elllobregat Open on Saturday.

Vaishali is now the third female grandmaster from India after Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli.

Vaishali and her younger brother R. Praggnanandhaa is now the first sister-brother pair to be grandmasters.

She defeated Turkish FM Tamer Tarik Selbes (2238) in the second round to surpass rating and has started the tournament with two consecutive wins.

The 22-year-old had three GM norms – Xtracon Open 2019, Fischer Memorial 2022, and Qatar Open 2023 – and only needed 4.5 ratings to go past the 2500-mark.

She is now the current world number 11 in women’s ranking with a live rating of 2501.5 and India’s number two.

In memorable year, Vaishali has won FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss 2023 and qualified for Candidates 2024.