The game once again began with a king pawn opening by Vaishali—1.e4 on the board!
It’s a Ruy Lopez once again—Vaishali sticks to her trusted opening choice!
So far, everything has followed the same path as the classical game—no deviations yet.
Finally, Ju deviated from the classical game—she pushed her c-pawn to support the center and entered a new line.
Vaishali brought out her dark-squared bishop, aiming for an exchange with Black's bishop.
now she’s ready to launch an attack on the black kingside!
Vaishali looked slightly better in this game, creating pressure and launching an attack on Ju's kingside.
Black pushed the c-pawn, while Vaishali kept her queen active on the kingside—ironically using the same strategy that Ju had successfully applied against her in their previous Armageddon encounter.
Ju is creating counterplay on the queenside, while Vaishali needs to be faster with her kingside initiative to maintain the pressure and avoid giving Ju time to activate her pieces.
Ju realized the growing pressure on the kingside and offered a queen exchange, but Vaishali declined—clearly showing her intent to play for a win.
A blunder from Ju has allowed Vaishali to launch an attack with her f-pawn push! Can Vaishali capitalize on this mistake and convert it into a crucial Armageddon win?
Perfect moves from Vaishali—she’s breaking through the World Champion’s kingside wall with precise pawn pushes!
This rook move has turned Vaishali's advantage into a clear winning edge—she’s seizing full control of the kingside attack!
Vaishali is inching closer to a memorable victory—just a few precise moves away from taking down the World Champion!
Vaishali has taken full control around the black king—will she defeat the World Champion for the first time?
She finished in style, launching a powerful kingside attack—mirroring the very plan Ju used against her in their last Armageddon clash. With flawless execution and fearless play under time pressure, Vaishali broke through the World Champion's defenses and claimed a memorable win. With this result, she equalizes the head-to-head score against Ju in this tournament, having lost their Round 3 tiebreak. A statement win and a well-deserved bonus point for the Indian star!