Koneru Humpy
| Photo Credit: FIDE
Koneru Humpy regained the women’s World rapid chess championship after a gap of five years on Sunday (December 29, 2024).
The 37-year-old from Vijayawada finished with 8.5 points after beating Indonesia’s Irene Sukandar in the final round in New York. The win helped Humpy move ahead of the other six joint leaders, including compatriot D. Harika, who had to settle for fifth place.
Among other Indian women, Divya Deshmukh (seven points) finished 21st, Padmini Rout (6.5) was 26th, R. Vaishali (5.5) 52nd and Vantika Agrawal (five) 67th.
In the open event, Russia’s Volodar Murzin emerged as the champion. The 18-year-old Russian finished with 10 points from 13 rounds. Alexander Grischuk and Ian Nepomniachtchi ensured it was a 1-2-3 for Russia, as they scored 9.5 points each.
The best Indian performer was Arjun Erigaisi, but it was a disappointing finish for him, after starting the day as one of the joint leaders. He ended in fifth place with nine points.
Among the other Indians, R. Praggnanandhaa finished 17th with 8.5 points. Arvindh Chithambaram (eight points) was 40th, V. Pranav (7.5) 44th and Raunak Sadhwani (seven) 55th.
The standings
1. Volodar Murzin (Rus) 10 points; 2-3. Alexander Grischuk (Rus) and Ian Nepomniachtchi (Rus) 9.5; 4-9. Leinier Dominguez Perez (USA), Arjun Erigaisi (Ind), Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb), Alireza Firouzja (Fra), Daniil Dubov (Rus) and Karen Grigoryan (Arm) 9.
Women: 1. Koneru Humpy (Ind) 8.5 points; 2-7. Ju Wenjun (Chn), Kateryna Lagno (Rus), Tan Zhongyi (Chn), D. Harika (Ind), Alexandra Kosteniuk (Swi) and Afruza Khamdamova (Uzb); 8-10. Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kaz), Irine Sukandar (Ina) and Stavroula Tsolakidou (Gre) 7.5.
Published – December 29, 2024 06:47 am IST