Koneru Humpy Finishes 12th In Chess Blitz World Championship

Koneru Humpy, the Indian grandmaster finished 12th in Blitz world championship in Moscow. Humpy lost the last three rounds and then lost hope for the second title in the championship. Humpy won the World Women's Rapid Chess Championship title after drawing the Armageddon game against Lei Tingjie of China on Saturday.

Key Takeaways:

• Humpy lost three rounds and finished at the 12th position with 10.5 points at the end of the championship. On the opening day of the championship, Humpy was on the second position with seven points in nine rounds.
•  Koneru Humpy is a 32-year-old Indian chess grandmaster who won two gold medals at the Asian Games in 2006. She also won three gold medals at the World Youth Chess Championship.
• Koneru did win the World Women's Rapid Championship on December 28, 2019, after drawing the Armageddon game against Lei Tingjie of China on Saturday. 
• Koneru is the second Indian to win Rapid gold (the first one being Vishwanathan Anand). 

Who is Koneru Humpy?

Koneru Humpy is a  32-year-old Indian chess grandmaster who won two gold medals at the Asian Games in 2006. She won the British Women Championship in 2000 and 2002 and she also won three gold medals at the World Youth Chess Championship: in 1997 (under-10 girls' division), 1998 (under-12 girls) and 2000 (under-14 girls). Humpy who is from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh was born on March 31, 1987.  She also received a Padma Shri in 2007 from late president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Further, she received Arjuna Award in 2003. On December 28, 2019, Humpy won World Women's Rapid Chess Championship.

Humpy's FIDE rating is 2574 (December 2019). Married to Dasari Anvesh in 2014, Humpy took time off for two years (2016 to 2018) after becoming a mother to a baby girl.

Read also: Koneru Humpy Is Women’s World Rapid Chess Champion

Koneru at Blitz World Championship

On the opening day of the championship, Humpy was on the second position with seven points in nine rounds. On the second day, after round 13, she shared the lead with Kateryna Lagno with 10 points each. However, the Indian Grandmaster then drew against Russia's Alisa Galliamova in the 14th round to drop to the second position. After this, she was half a point behind Lagno who had another win.

Lagno scored 13 points out of 17 games and maintained her lead. Humpy lost three rounds and finished at the 12th position with 10.5 points at the end of the championship. Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) won the second position whereas the third position was given to Tan Zhongyi of China and Valentina Gunina of Russia.  Harika Dronavalli (another Indian) finished 25th.

Koneru did win the World Women's Rapid Championship on December 28, 2019, after drawing the Armageddon game against Lei Tingjie of China on Saturday. 

However, Koneru did win the World Women's Rapid Championship on December 28, 2019, after drawing the Armageddon game against Lei Tingjie of China on Saturday. In an interview with FIDE, Humpy after winning the title said “When I started my first game on Day 3 I did not imagine I would be at the top. I hoped to reach the top three. I didn't expect to play the tie-break games.” Koneru is the second Indian to win Rapid gold (the first one being Vishwanathan Anand).

Read also: India’s Koneru Humpy Jumps To World Number Three In Latest Ranking

Mansi is an Intern at SheThePeople.TV