RB Ramesh had a promise to keep. He had told grandmaster siblings Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and R. Vaishali that if either of them or both won the Fide Candidates Chess tournament in Paphos, Cyprus, he would take the first available flight from Chennai to congratulate them.

Praggu could not win, but Vaishali did on Wednesday and Ramesh had to book a ticket to keep his promise.

“Yes, I had told them that I would be there. So the first thing I did after Vaishali won the Candidates was to buy a ticket to Cyprus,” Ramesh, who coaches the brother-sister duo from an early age, said from Dubai on Thursday. He was in transit.

Vaishali, 24, took pole position in the women’s section with 8.5 points after the end of the 14-game tournament to set up a World Championship showdown with reigning champion Ju Wenjun of China.

Ramesh did not agree with the perception that Vaishali, world No. 13 in the women’s live ranking after Wednesday’s success, has finally come out of the shadow of her much-celebrated brother.

“I do not agree to this. Yes, there was a time (some three years back) when she was feeling down, but that’s normal for any sportsperson. It had nothing to do with Praggu’s rise. She has improved by leaps and bounds since then, and the results prove that,” Ramesh said.

According to the 49-year-old grandmaster, chess coaches need to deal with women players differently.

“They are much more sensitive and emotional. So if a coach needs to say some strong words to a woman player, then he has to keep in mind how to make her understand without being too strict.”

Ramesh said Vaishali has worked very hard on her mental side over the last two years.

“Yoga, meditation... Mentally, she is tougher now. Now she does not get emotional too easily if things do not go her way during a game.”

Second at 19

Vaishali’s primary second at the Candidates was grandmaster Pranesh M. A second in chess parlance is a trusted assistant, often a strong grandmaster, hired to help a player prepare for tournaments or matches at the elite level.

Pranesh is just 19 and has been playing with Vaishali for some time now. “It was Ramesh sir’s idea to bring me on board,” Pranesh said from Paphos.

“We have been preparing for the past month and our hard work paid off,” he said.