FIDE Women's Candidates 2026: Vaishali wins the title; qualifies for World C'ship

GM Vaishali Rameshbabu scripted history for India to clinch the 2026 FIDE Women's Candidates title with a last-round win in Cyprus on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old, playing with the white pieces, defeated Russia's Kateryna Lagno in the last round to finish the marathon 14-game tournament at the top with 8.5 points.

She became the first Indian ever to win the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament, qualifying for the 2026 FIDE Women's World Championship.

She will also be the second Indian woman to compete in the Classical World Championship final after Koneru Humpy, who finished as runner-up in 2011.

The two-time FIDE Women's Grand Swiss champion will now challenge the five-time defending women's world champion, Ju Wenjun of China, for the title later this year.

This meant that India will be represented in both the Open and Women’s World Championship. Reigning champion Gukesh is also set to face Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan in the title clash.

Thrilling final round

In the final round, Vaishali delivered a superb endgame performance, forcing Lagno to resign after 48 moves with a decisive material advantage in the Sicilian Defence.

Vaishali didn't lose her composure and fight back against Lagno's tricky play with her tactical and positional play, registering a crucial win in the final round.

Meanwhile, Divya Deshmukh finished the tournament in joint 7th place with a final round draw, ending the tournament with 5.5 points from her 14 games.

She played a crucial role in the last round by holding joint leader Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan to a draw in the final round, thereby denying her any chance of forcing tiebreaks for the title with Vaishali.