Vaishali Rameshbabu starts Budapest chess event with win over Hans Niemann

Vaishali Rameshbabu began her campaign at the Total Chess pilot event in Budapest on Tuesday night by winning a blitz match against Hans Niemann. Niemann helped with the seeding process for this tournament, which officially gets underway on Wednesday. The total player field consists of twenty-four players, with Vaishali and Bibisara Assaubayeva being the only two women participating.

Preparation

Ahead of the blitz games, Vaishali discussed her preparations for her upcoming Women's World Championship match against the reigning champion, Ju Wenjun. She noted that getting ready for a World Championship differs from preparing for the Candidates tournament, as a championship match focuses on studying just one specific player head-to-head instead of playing seven different opponents in a double round-robin format. She continues to work with a sports psychologist who has assisted her over the past couple of years, though she chose to keep the name private.

Training

Vaishali views the Total Chess pilot tournament as useful training for her upcoming title match because she will face strong opponents and daily challenges in this field of twenty-two male players and two female players. She stated that playing against strong open-field competitors pushes her to the limit and keeps the pressure on until the final move, which helps her improve faster. Regarding training hours, she emphasized that maintaining good physical and mental shape during the tournament matters more than simply putting in twelve to thirteen hours of work if the brain is not functioning well.

Context

The Total Chess pilot event brings together a strong international field in Budapest, serving as a competitive platform for top players. Vaishali Rameshbabu is one of India's leading chess stars, having previously competed in the Candidates tournament before earning her shot at the Women's World Championship title.