Praggnanandhaa and sister Vaishali become the first-ever Grandmaster siblings in history

Vaishali and Praggnanandhaa with their mother (Image credit: @chessvaishali/X)

Vaishali Rameshbabu has become India’s third female Grandmaster by surpassing 2500 rating during the 2023 IV Elllobregat Open on Saturday. With this feat, Vaishali and her younger brother, chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, have become the first-ever Grandmaster siblings pair in history, BBC reported.

A star in her own right, Vaishali’s achievements were somewhat overshadowed by the meteoric rise of her younger brother Praggnanandhaa, who became the second-youngest Grandmaster in 2018.

At the age of 22, Vaishali is emerging from the shadows and stepping into the limelight – although her achievements and talent were never in question. She became a Woman International Master at 15, Woman Grandmaster at 17 and International Master at 20.

According to BBC, she was the first in her family to play chess. Older than Praggnanandhaa by four years, she has now ended India’s 12-year wait for a female Grandmaster – becoming only the third woman after Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli to hold the title.

Like Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali started playing chess at a young age. Their mother Nagalaxmi once explained that her two children spent too much time in front of the television, and so she enrolled them in chess classes. The rest, as they say, is history.

Last month, the siblings’ coach, RB Ramesh, spoke to the New Indian Express about their playing styles. “You can say initially, they both had a similar style and it evolved slightly in different directions. Both are very hard working. They don’t have much interest beyond chess and I think many other children of their age, so they are very committed and dedicated to chess,” he said. “Both spend a lot of hours on a daily basis working on chess, both didn’t go to school from a young age practicing almost single-mindedly on chess.”