The Indian siblings making waves in the global chess scene
Over the past ten years, few have lived up to the title of chess prodigy quite like India's Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. At the tender age of 10, he attained the title of International Master, which at the time made him the youngest ever, and is only surpassed by the title of Grandmaster.
In 2018, he emerged as the second youngest Grandmaster. He managed to beat Magnus Carlsen, a five-time world champion, consecutively three times in online matches. He is also the second Indian, succeeding Viswanathan Anand, to reach the World Cup final and qualify for the Candidates tournament.
As all these events were taking place, another family member who also plays chess, Praggnanandhaa's elder sister Vaishali, was patiently waiting for her chance to play. She is four years his senior.
Vaishali, the first member of her family to engage in chess, has always demonstrated undeniable talent and hard work. She recently brought an end to India's 12-year anticipation, becoming only the third woman in history to earn the title of Grandmaster, following Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli. This achievement also sets a record, marking her and her brother as the first ever siblings to both hold the Grandmaster title.
In November, Vaishali, a 22-year-old, triumphed over three past global champions to claim victory in the Women's Grand Swiss tournament, thereby securing her place in the Women's Candidates tournament.
The familial relationship in chess has proven incredibly fruitful. The impact of brotherly competition is nearly impossible to ignore.
"When Pragg earned the title of youngest International Master, his rating surpassed mine for the first time. Suddenly, all attention at home centered around him," Vaishali shared with BBC. "It bothered me. I don't believe I handled my feelings effectively," she admits, noting that this negatively impacted her performance.
Conversations with my parents would temporarily soothe my feelings, but whenever he achieved something notable and all eyes were on him, I would fall back into feeling somewhat downcast. It required time for me to conquer these emotions and acknowledge his remarkable abilities. Upon earning my Woman Grandmaster (WGM) title, my self-esteem improved. For the past few years, I've only felt immense pride for his accomplishments. I acknowledge the effort that went into them, she shares.
As children, when they started their training with Grandmaster RB Ramesh, Vaishali had a superior rating than the other. As time passed, their progression in the game diverged and was frequently filled with feelings of jealousy from the one lagging behind.
"Being the other sibling is always a challenge," states Ramesh. Until recently, even during the World Cup in August, hordes of journalists would flock to their residence following each significant achievement of Praggnanandhaa. They would inquire Vaishali about her experiences being his sister or question their parents about the pride they felt for their son.
"Ramesh believes that at some point in her mind, it transformed into a kind of stress. The stress to excel and not to be overlooked,".
The pressure to secure a Grandmaster title and avoid being forgotten was evident in her occasionally puzzling initial moves. "I would watch her real-time matches and question, why is she making that move? I could feel the strain and tension. Lately, her strategy of focusing on her strongest skills has been effective. The outcomes are reflecting this," he comments.
Over time, the bond between Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali has strengthened, with the pandemic period notably drawing them nearer to each other. Now, they are each other's most passionate supporters and trusted advisors.
In the midst of the pandemic, we found ourselves discussing a variety of topics that we hadn't touched upon previously. He possesses a great deal of self-assurance and clear-headedness. Whenever I feel uncertain or confused, I rely on him for guidance. He usually provides the correct solutions," shares Vaishali.
"Not many individuals in the world of chess have the luxury of a family member or a fellow player to review games and discuss strategies for hours on end. We're only just realizing how much we truly appreciate this advantage," she further comments.
During the Asian Games in October, Vaishali took Praggnanandhaa for a long, hour-long walk to vent her frustration and clear her mind after a disappointing game. While her fellow Indian teammates managed to tie their respective matches in the women's event, Vaishali's defeat to Tan Zhongyi caused India to lose to China.
Overwhelmed by feelings of despair and frustration, she made up her mind to skip her next scheduled tournament – the Qatar Masters. However, Praggnanandhaa persuaded her to reconsider. This turned out to be a good decision, as she ended the tournament as one of the top female competitors, securing her third and last Grandmaster norm.
During the subsequent Grand Swiss tournament, they occupied the same playing area. Praggnanandhaa was noticed strolling towards his sister's game board during her matches to check on her progress.
The Indian siblings have contrasting personalities.
Praggnananandhaa is outgoing, enjoys having a good time, and is very sociable. On the other hand, Vaishali is reserved, introspective, and tends to overanalyze situations. Even though she has a tendency to be overly critical of herself, this doesn't diminish her accomplishments, such as a significant victory at the Women's Grand Swiss and Candidates qualification. Despite these achievements, Vaishali was unable to let go of her narrow miss of the GM title.
Praggnananandhaa has demonstrated exceptional defensive abilities and composed gameplay across the board. Vaishali is a persistent aggressor, capable of executing strategies that chess algorithms don't typically prefer, willingly giving up several pieces, constructing a network of strategic challenges, and completely overwhelming her competitor.
She completely outplayed International Master Leya Garifullina using this strategic approach at the Women's Grand Swiss competition. In a separate match within the same tournament, she effortlessly defeated previous world champion Mariya Muzychuk in just 23 moves when Muzychuk overextended, giving the Indian player an opportunity to launch a powerful offensive. Vaishali's absolute control of the tournament, overpowering all her competitors, served as a resounding declaration of her emergence.
It's quite extraordinary to see the most talented male and female Indian chess players in the nation originating from the same family.
Dad Rameshbabu takes care of the arrangements for transportation and travel, while mom Nagalakshmi, ever watchful, travels with both kids to various global tournaments.
Their image isn't crafted through smooth public relations efforts. Vaishali typically handles their social media profiles and Praggnanandhaa frequently seeks her assistance in replying to emails. The setup is akin to a family-managed start-up, aiming for excellence in chess.
In 2012, Vaishali and Praggnanandhaa became national champions and earned spots in the Asian youth championships in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka. At that time, the family's main worry was gathering enough money for the travel expenses for three people. They were able to pull together the necessary money and both came back victorious – Vaishali in the under-12 girls category, and Praggnanandhaa in the under-8 boys category.
We've matured together, consistently conquering age-level competitions. Not long ago, we achieved identical awards at both the Olympiad and Asian Games. Currently, we're on a journey towards the most significant competition we've ever participated in together.
Their unique, inspirational tale is one that chess enthusiasts and authors eagerly anticipate to observe and document. It has also piqued the interest of others who are intrigued by these two siblings who are breaking records, overwhelming their competitors, and sharing secret grins with each other.
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