New Delhi, Oct 1 (PTI) Grandmaster R Vaishali was so crestfallen following seven straight losses in the Chennai Grandmasters that she had made up her mind to pull out of the Grand Swiss tournament, but family support steered her to the event where she won the title to qualify for the Candidates next year.

Vaishali, who became the third Indian to make it to the Candidates next year after Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy, also said that her family, especially younger brother R Praggnanandhaa, has been a pillar of strength, helping her to overcome difficult times.

"The tournament in Chennai (this year), I lost seven games in a row and I was like, it was one of the most difficult tournaments in my life. I've had bad tournaments but this one was too much for me to take," Vaishali told FIDE (In

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