'What a way to wrap up 2024': Viswanathan Anand congratulates Vaishali on clinching bronze in World Blitz Championship

NEW DELHI: The 2024 World Blitz Championship in New York saw Indian chess prodigy Vaishali Rameshbabu finishing third after a stellar entry to the knockouts.
As India’s Vaishali clinched a historic bronze medal in the Women’s section, former world champion and Vaishali's mentor Viswanathan Anand congratulated the 23-year-old rising star, praising her determination and performance
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"Congratulations to Vaishali for taking Bronze. Her qualification was truly a power packed performance. Our Waca Chess 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 players but here we have it a World Champion and a Bronze medallist!" Anand wrote on X.

The Women’s championship saw China’s Ju Wenjun, who had earlier beaten Vaishali in back-to-back games, triumph over compatriot Lei Tingjie in a thrilling final, displaying her tactical brilliance and resilience.

Wenjun’s title reaffirms her dominance in women’s chess as she emerges victorious in another global championship.
The Open section title was shared between Norway’s Magnus Carlsen and Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi.

The final between the two titans ended in a tie after three sudden-death games produced no winner. This first-ever shared title at the World Blitz Championship sparked discussions about the fairness of the format.
Carlsen described the decision as a practical resolution after a gruelling day, saying, “We reached a point where it had been a long day. We played many games, we had three draws and I felt that I could keep playing. But it was a nice solution to share the win, it was a good way to end it.”