Vaishali’s Two Budapest Blitz Wins — ChessForKids Game Analysis

CHESSFORKIDS · GAME ANALYSIS Vaishali’s Two Budapest Blitz Wins Two full games with Black. Two positions to solve before you reveal the mo...

CHESSFORKIDS · GAME ANALYSIS

Vaishali’s Two Budapest Blitz Wins

Two full games with Black. Two positions to solve before you reveal the move.

On 10 November 2026, Rameshbabu Vaishali beat Hans Niemann and Wesley So in the opening 3+2 Blitz Swiss at the Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot in Budapest. Against Niemann she blocked a rook to stop two passed pawns. Against So she attacked a queen that was defending another piece. FIDE’s opening blitz report

1. Hans Niemann vs Rameshbabu Vaishali

Round 1 · Board 12 · 0–1 · Italian Game · 48 moves

Opening · The fight for the centre

In the Italian Game, Niemann prepared d4 with c3. After 13.d4, his pawn attacked e5. Vaishali kept her bishop active by retreating to b6, where it pointed down the diagonal toward the centre.

Middlegame · When the queens come off

Vaishali traded queens on f2. After 32.Rxf2, White still had two active rooks. Later, 40.cxd6 created a passed pawn. By move 46, White’s pawns on d7 and e6 were deep in Black’s half, and the d7-pawn was one step from promotion.

Black to move after 46.Ke2. How can the bishop stop the rook on e8 from guarding e6?

Black to move after 46.Ke2

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Use the diagram to solve the puzzle, then open the game link below to replay the moves.

Open the full game on the source site

Reveal the tactic

46…Be7! The bishop goes from f6 to e7 and blocks the rook’s line. In the game, 47.a4 Kxe6 48.a5 Kxd7 removed both passed pawns. This is an example of interference, where a piece interrupts a defender’s line.

Full game PGN

[Event "Total Chess Pilot Blitz Swiss"]
[Site "Budapest, Hungary"]
[Date "2026.11.10"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Hans Niemann"]
[Black "Rameshbabu Vaishali"]
[Result "0-1"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 a5 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 h6 9. Nbd2 a4 10. Bb5 Bd7 11. Nf1 Ne7 12. Bxd7 Nxd7 13. d4 Bb6 14. Qc2 Ng6 15. Be3 Re8 16. Ng3 Ndf8 17. Rad1 Nh4 18. Nxh4 Qxh4 19. Nf5 Qh5 20. f4 exf4 21. Bxf4 Ne6 22. Rf1 a3 23. b4 Ng5 24. Rde1 Re6 25. Ng3 Qh4 26. Qf2 Rf8 27. c4 c6 28. c5 dxc5 29. bxc5 Ba5 30. Re3 Rf6 31. Nf5 Qxf2+ 32. Rxf2 Rd8 33. Bxg5 hxg5 34. Rxa3 Bc7 35. Ra7 Bf4 36. Kf1 g6 37. Nd6 Re6 38. e5 Be3 39. Rxf7 Rexd6 40. cxd6 Kxf7 41. Rxb7+ Ke6 42. Re7+ Kd5 43. d7 Bxd4 44. e6 Kd6 45. Re8 Bf6 46. Ke2 Be7 47. a4 Kxe6 48. a5 Kxd7 0-1

2. Wesley So vs Rameshbabu Vaishali

Round 3 · Board 6 · 0–1 · Nimzo–Larsen Attack · 66 moves

Opening · Both kings head queenside

So’s 1.b3 and 2.Bb2 put a bishop on the long diagonal. Vaishali claimed central space with …e5 and …e4, then pushed her h-pawn. After 13…O-O-O 14.Qe2 Rh6 15.O-O-O, both kings were on the queenside and Black already had a rook off the back rank.

Middlegame · An open file gives the rook a route in

After 43…g4 44.fxg4 Rxg4, Black had an active rook on the g-file. It checked from g2, took on h2, and then found a way to attack White’s queen.

Black to move after 48.Rg1. The queen on f3 guards the rook on e4. Can you make the queen give up that defence?

Black to move after 48.Rg1

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Use the diagram to solve the puzzle, then open the game link below to replay the moves.

Open the full game on the source site

Reveal the tactic

48…Rf2! The rook on h2 goes to f2 and attacks the queen. So played 49.Qxf2, and Vaishali’s queen took the other rook with 49…Qxe4. The two captures exchanged a rook from each side and activated Black’s queen. Play through 51…Qxa3+ to see how quickly that queen began checking the exposed king. ChessBase India reports six seconds on Vaishali’s clock when she found the tactic.

Full game PGN

[Event "Total Chess Pilot Blitz Swiss"]
[Site "Budapest, Hungary"]
[Date "2026.11.10"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Wesley So"]
[Black "Rameshbabu Vaishali"]
[Result "0-1"]
[TimeControl "180+2"]

1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bb5 e4 5. Ne2 a6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Ng3 h5 8. Nc3 Qe7 9. f3 exf3 10. gxf3 h4 11. Nge4 Nxe4 12. Nxe4 Bf5 13. d3 O-O-O 14. Qe2 Rh6 15. O-O-O Re6 16. Rde1 g6 17. Nd2 Bh6 18. e4 Bh3 19. Kb1 Bf4 20. Nc4 f5 21. Qf2 Kb8 22. Ba3 Qf6 23. Bb2 Qe7 24. Ba3 Qf6 25. e5 Qg5 26. Rhg1 Qh6 27. Bc1 Rde8 28. d4 Bxc1 29. Rxc1 g5 30. Rce1 f4 31. c3 Bf5+ 32. Kb2 Rd8 33. b4 Bd3 34. Nd2 Bh7 35. Ne4 Bxe4 36. Rxe4 a5 37. a3 Rd5 38. Rd1 Qh7 39. Qe2 Qf5 40. c4 Rd8 41. bxa5 h3 42. Ka2 Rg8 43. a6 g4 44. fxg4 Rxg4 45. Qf3 Rg2+ 46. Ka1 Rxh2 47. Rb1 b6 48. Rg1 Rf2 49. Qxf2 Qxe4 50. Re1 Qd3 51. Rc1 Qxa3+ 52. Kb1 Qb3+ 53. Ka1 Qa4+ 54. Kb2 Rg6 55. Rg1 Qb4+ 56. Ka1 Qa3+ 57. Kb1 Qb3+ 58. Ka1 Rxg1+ 59. Qxg1 Qxc4 60. Qg5 Qxa6+ 61. Kb2 Qb5+ 62. Kc3 Qa5+ 63. Kd3 Qa3+ 64. Ke4 Qe3+ 65. Kf5 h2 66. Qh6 Qg1 0-1

Two ideas to use in your next game

1. Follow the line. When a rook or bishop protects something from far away, see whether you can put a piece between them.
2. Count the defender’s jobs. If one piece guards an important target, look for a move that makes it leave. Before you play, calculate what happens if your opponent captures the attacking piece.

Which tactic would you spot first in blitz? Share the move and what it attacks or blocks.

Further reading. ChessBase India’s blitz report · Total Chess’s Round 3 result · More game analysis on ChessForKids