Vaishali Rameshbabu Creates History: First Woman to Win FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss Twice

Current Context: FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss 2025, held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan (2–16 Sept).

• Achievement: Indian Grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu became the first woman ever to win the Women’s Grand Swiss twice (earlier in 2023, now in 2025).
• Final Round: Drew with former Women’s World Champion Tan Zhongyi to finish with 8/11 points, edging out Kateryna Lagno on tiebreaks.
• Prize: Earned $25,000 from the $230,000 women’s prize pool.
• Impact: Secured a berth in the 2026 Women’s Candidates Tournament, joining Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh as India’s three representatives.
• Significance: First player (male or female) to win the Grand Swiss title twice in its short history; cements India’s rising dominance in women’s chess.

Question:

Q.1 Who became the first woman ever to win the Women’s Grand Swiss twice?
a) Koneru Humpy
b) Vaishali Rameshbabu
c) Divya Deshmukh
d) Kateryna Lagno

Answer: b) Indian Grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu won the Women’s Grand Swiss in 2023 and again in 2025, making her the first woman to achieve this feat.