Vaishali Rameshbabu became the 84th Chess Grandmaster of India. After becoming R Vaishali, she left the tag of being 'Pragyanand's sister'

Playing at the IV El Llobregat Open tournament in Spain, Vaishali Rameshbabu defeated FM Tamer Celebs in a match that had a huge impact. The win took Vaishali's rating points past 2500, granting her entry into the elusive Indian Grandmaster Club: current membership is 84. Vaishali also became part of a small group: the title of Grandmaster is held by Indian women, which has only three members besides Vaishali, Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli. Having reached the pinnacle of the chess playing hierarchy – a Grandmaster title – Vaishali was given the title of 'Pragganananda', this would also go a long way in freeing her from the tag of being a 'sister'. While it was Vaishali who first started creating havoc on the chess field with her younger brother, setting records like becoming the youngest International Master in the world. Now just over a month old, in the span of 2017, Vaishali has achieved the goals she set for herself as a child, like one ticks off things on a shopping list: She Winning Ultra earned a spot in the prestigious Candidates Tournament.