When a food poisoning bout and forced 2-month rest worked its magic for Vaishali Rameshbabu to rediscover joy in chess in 2024 | Chess News
Vaishali Rameshbabu had just been knocked out of the World Cup in July and returned home, falling ill immediately. She would miss out on tournaments for two months, trying to recoup, and discover a broader life beyond chess, which in fact helped her to fall in love with chess again, and this time feel “sorta, kinda something like happy.” India’s brand new challenger for the Women’s Chess World Championships after winning Candidates at Cyprus, recalled how the lowest point brought on enduring joy for the game thereafter. The year was 2023-24 – and it had been a rollercoaster, she told Chess.com two years ago. “It was just a food poisoning. But it was bad for me. In a way it was good. I took a break from the game, to take some positives from it. But I had to miss some tournaments,” she revealed to the website. The lead-up she told Chess.com had been filled with losses. “Last year was a rollercoaster. Wijk an Zee was ok. Didn’t play well in Grand Prix, lost my …


