New Delhi: India’s R Vaishali continued her strong run at the World Blitz Chess Championship 2024 in New York on Wednesday to clinch a bronze medal in the women’s section. Vaishali, who entered the quarterfinals after remaining unbeaten, defeated China’s Zhu Jiner 2.5-1.5 in the quarter-final before going down in the semi-final against another Chinese opponent.
India’s hopes were riding on Vaishali after newly-crowned raid champion Koneru Humpy failed to make it to the knockout stage of the blitz event on Tuesday. India’s hopes in the open section also crashed after R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi failed to make it to the next round as they finished below the top 20. Vaishali didn’t disappoint and ensured she returned home with a medal.
Vaishali earned a comfortable victory against Jine, defeating her 2.5-1.5 in the quarters. However, she was outplayed by Chinese grandmaster Ju Wenjum in the semi-final as she lost 0.5-2.5 to settle for a bronze medal. Wenjum went on to clinch the women’s blitz title by defeating her Chinese counterpart Ju Lei Tingjie 3.5-2.5 in the final.
Viswanathan Anand congratulates R Vaishali
Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand took to social media to congratulate Vaishali on her bronze medal at the World Blitz Championship 2024. Five-time world champion Anand said Vaishali, who used to train at his WestBridge Anand Chess Academy (WaCa), made the academy proud by ending the year on a high. He also hailed Humpy for winning the rapid title at the World Championship.
“Congratulations to Vaishali for taking bronze. Her qualification was truly a power packed performance. Our Waca Chess mentee (WestBridge Anand Chess Academy) has done us proud,” Anand wrote in a tweet.
“We are so happy to be supporting her and her chess. What a way to wrap up 2024. In 2021, we thought we would get stronger chess players but here we have it a World Champion (Humpy) and a Bronze medallist (Vaishali)!” he added.
Congratulations to @chessvaishali for taking Bronze. Her qualification was truly a power packed performance. Our @WacaChess mentee has done us proud. We are so happy to be supporting her and her chess. What a way to wrap up 2024 !! In 2021 we thought we would get stronger chess…
— Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) January 1, 2025
Meanwhile, world no.1 Magnus Carlsen had to share the blitz title in the ‘Open’ section with Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi after even three sudden-death games failed to decide a winner in the final between the duo. This was the first instance of the title being awarded to two players after deadlock in the final.
India’s chess star R Vaishali clinched bronze medal in the World Blitz Chess Championship 2024 in New York on Wednesday, January 01. Vaishali defeated Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
