The year 2024 was very good for India in chess. Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh defeated defending champion Ding Liren of China to become the youngest world champion at the age of 18. After D Gukesh, India's R Vaishali ended the year in a great way. In this way, India's name once again rang in the world of chess. 

India's R Vaishali won the bronze medal in the women's category of the World Blitz Chess Championship, thus continuing the country's players' impressive performance at the end of the year 2024 after Koneru Humpy won the title in the rapid event in New York. Vaishali defeated China's Zhu Jiner 2.5-1.5 in the quarter-finals but lost to another Chinese opponent Ju Wenjun 0.5-2.5 in the semi-finals. 

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China's dominance

The tournament was completely dominated by Chinese players. China's Ju Wenjun won the world title by defeating compatriot Lei Tingjie 3.5-2.5. Five-time world champion and International Chess Federation (FIDE) vice-president Viswanathan Anand congratulated Vaishali for her efforts and said it was a great way to end the year. 

Anand wrote on Instagram- Congratulations to Vaishali on winning the bronze medal. She really performed brilliantly. Our WACA Chess Advisor (Westbridge Anand Chess Academy) has made us proud. It was a great way to end the year 2024. In the open category, world number one Magnus Carlsen and Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi shared the blitz title as there was no clear winner even after three games of sudden-death. This is the first time that the title was shared between two players.