Vaishali becomes GM, joins Praggnanandhaa to form world's first brother-sister Grandmasters duo
Chennai, Dec 2: Indian chess ace R Vaishali joined younger sibling R Praggnanandhaa to become the world's first-ever brother-sister Grandmasters duo and only the third woman from the country to earn the GM title, at the IV El Llobregat Open in Spain.
Vaishali achieved the feat after crossing 2500 ELO rating points on Friday. She is the country's 84th GM.
The 22-year old Chennai-based Vaishali crossed the 2500 mark at the tournament in Spain where she defeated Turkish FM Tamer Tarik Selbes in the second round.
She obtained her third GM norm at the Qatar Masters tournament in October and needed to increase her ELO rating.
They also became the first-ever brother-sister duo to make the Candidates, the qualifying event for the World Championship match. The Candidates will be held in Toronto in April.
Her younger brother Praggnanandhaa had got the GM title in 2018, when he was just 12.
Koneru Humpy and D Harika are the two other women GMs from India.
Humpy was the world's youngest female player ever, when she became a GM in 2002, at the age of 15.
Chess legend Viswanathan Anand congratulated Vaishali on social networking platform 'X'.
"She worked very hard the last few months and this augurs well as she gets ready for the candidates. Her parents and just maybe the competition at home should be congratulated.
@Rameshchess & Aarthie for being her rock," Anand wrote.
Vaishali was introduced to chess by her father, Rameshbabu, who himself was a chess player.
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4 held for sexually assaulting woman, girl on moving bus after social media alert in UP's Agra
Agra (UP) (PTI): Four people were arrested, after a prompt response by police following a social media alert, for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman and a girl inside a moving bus here, officials said on Tuesday.
According to an official police statement, at 12:27 am on April 27, information was received on the social media platform X about an incident of sexual assault on a bus travelling from Kanpur to Ahmedabad, which was approaching Namner crossing in Agra.
Acting under the direction of Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar, the Agra Police social media team immediately alerted the Rakabganj police station within minutes and coordinated with the victims to confirm the incident and obtain the exact location, it stated.
Police teams launched intensive checking at Namner crossing and intercepted the bus as it reached the spot. The four accused involved in the incident were apprehended on the spot, and legal action was initiated against them, the statement said.
The police said the swift response and coordination between the social media team and field units ensured timely action, bringing relief to the victims and other passengers, who expressed gratitude towards the police, it added.
