CHENNAI: Roller coaster doesn’t even begin to describe the kind of past three months R Vaishali has had. After the high of the Asian Games silver medal, she secured a place at the 2024 Candidates and then fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming a Grandmaster. The icing on the cake was the recent recognition from the Union Government — Arjuna Award for her and Dronacharya for her coach R Ramesh — last month.
“A lot of highs in the last three months,” reflects Vaishali in an interaction with this daily. “GM title is something I wanted to win for a really long time. It was my childhood dream, and I was very happy to finally complete it. It (Arjuna Award) was definitely very special. It came as a huge surprise. For Ramesh sir, the Dronacharya, we have been waiting for many years, it finally happened. It so happened that I also received it, it was really great. Parents are very happy, it is such a prestigious award. Now, I am looking forward to the candidates.”
For someone who has constantly been in the media over the years, partly speaking about her younger brother GM R Praggnanandhaa, the second half of 2023 had been different. All of a sudden she was in the limelight for her success and she was enjoying all the attention coming her way. Ask her if that has made her feel different or added any extra pressure, Vaishali says she hasn’t even thought about it. In fact, it is the case for most things apart from chess. She still doesn’t remember the last time she watched a movie, barring whatever she skims through during travel, and completely focussed on chess while going with the flow when it comes to other things.
Among the few things that has taken priority is her fitness training. It is something she had focussed on since the Chess Olympiad, and once she saw the results, she ensured that it became a part of chess preparation rather than a separate time out of her hectic schedule. “It was difficult for me, but I am seeing the results. So I have stopped looking at it as physical fitness and made it a part of my training routine for chess preparation — 45 minutes to 1 hour every day,” she says.
What does a day look like? She has to say this: “It starts around 8-8.30AM, training from 10 till afternoon, lunch break and then again starts and goes through evening till 8.30-9PM with a small break in between. I was basically staying in the same place. The whole day is just about chess.”
Having taken a short break after winning the GM title, Vaishali, at the moment, has her full focus on the preparation for the candidates. While she will be taking part in the Prague Chess Festival which is set to happen in the Czech Republic later this month, it is hard not to think about the Candidates. “Everyday the tournament is in the back of my mind. Just eight players, the whole world is going to watch, it keeps running in my head. If you come first, you get to world championships. From second to eight, it does not make any difference. I want to give my everything so that I don’t have any regrets,” she said.