'Vaishali took the blows, delivered the punches, amazing stuff': Vishy Anand

“Wow! wow! wow!” That’s how five-time world champion Vishy Anand reacted when Kateryna Lagno resigned and Vaishali Rameshbabu emerged the women’s world championship challenger in Cyprus on Wednesday.

When Vaishali had the winning advantage, Anand joined the chess24 broadcast before meeting R Praggnanandhaa and his mother outside the arena. Anand said, “I spent 10 minutes talking with Pragg and his mom before coming here. Vaishali showed excellent preparation and resilience. Took the blows and delivered the punches. A proud moment for Indian chess, with two Indians to cheer for in the World Championships.”




When Vaishali came out triumphant, mother, Nagalakshmi, rushed towards her with folded hands to congratulate her, brother Pragg followed. After a small family hug the champion went for the post game interview.

In her interview with FIDE, Vaishali shared the secret of coming back stronger after earlier setbacks. She said, “I wished to win my game today. Earlier my games were super shaky. I was scoring points out of luck. Loss against Zhu was very crucial. Then I started to focus on the quality of my game. I was getting into time trouble but had control of my position. Happy to get the desired result.”

Summarising Vaishali’s triumph, Anand said, “It was just amazing stuff and this was quite a drama today. Just shows what Vaishali went through to hold this point. Vaishali, in the end, was stronger than anyone else. She grabbed the lead, then still showed a combative attitude even after losing to Jiner. And then to come back strongly like this is amazing stuff. Today she played a fantastic game under the circumstances with all the tension around.”

He added, “Her preparation in this tournament has been outstanding and has helped her a lot, amplified the effect of her normal resourcefulness, which got her out of trouble. In every department she was just amazing.”

Vaishali's childhood coach, RB Ramesh, who joined the ChessBase broadcast, was elated to see his ward emerge as India’s second challenger. “Both Pragg and Vaishali have always been very dedicated. At times I feel that they are giving so much for chess. At times I feel a little sad that they are unable to socialise. But that is the choice they have consciously made and they are quite happy to see all the sacrifices have been rewarded,” Ramesh said.

Judit Polgar said, “Vaishali grabbed the opportunity. Especially when you are the lowest-ranked, everyone is hungry to beat you, and Vaishali believed in her preparations and delivered.”
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