Grandmaster R Vaishali, the defending champion, moved into sole lead in the women’s section of the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 after securing her third straight victory. The Indian star defeated Austria’s Olga Bedelka in the third round on Saturday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
While Vaishali surged ahead with 3 points, compatriots D Harika and Vantika Agrawal faced tougher outings. Harika settled for a draw against China’s Guo Qi, while Vantika suffered a loss to Yuxin Song. Both now stand at 1.5 points, half a point behind the leader.
In the open section, world champion D Gukesh displayed sharp play against Spain’s Daniil Yuffa. Playing black, Gukesh adopted the Ragozin Defense and capitalized on his opponent’s risky attack, eventually converting a material advantage into a comfortable win. He now sits on 2.5 points from three rounds.
It was also a productive day for India’s young talents R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi. Praggnanandhaa edged past former world championship finalist Boris Gelfand of Israel in a tense endgame, while Arjun took advantage of a late mistake by Slovenia’s Anton Demchenko to claim victory after six hours of play.
With several rounds still to go, Indian players continue to be in strong contention across both sections.
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