According to the latest rankings released by the world body International Chess Federation, Indian woman chess stalwart Koneru Humpy has jumped to world number three position.
Andhra Pradesh based Humpy is a 32-year-old chess player who made a stellar comeback after a two-year hiatus to win the FIDE women's Grand Prix tournament held in Skolkovo in Russia recently. She got 17 ELO points which helped her to rise to the third spot with a global rating of 2,577.
Indian woman chess stalwart Koneru Humpy is now at number three position.
She was on a sabbatical as she had to take care of her new-born daughter Ahana.
The first and the second spots in the latest ranking have been occupied by Chinese players Hou Yifan (2,659 points) and Ju Wenjun (2,586 points)
Last week, she won Skolkovo FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2019. Humpy drew her highly-anticipated final round game against the reigning Women’s World Champion Wenjun Ju. The India number one finished at 8.0/11, half point ahead of the runner-up Ju Wenjun 7.5/11.
In 2002, Koneru achieved the feat of becoming the youngest woman ever to achieve the title of grandmaster (not solely a Woman Grandmaster) at the age of 15 years, one month, 27 days, beating Judit Polgár’s previous mark by three months.
Know more about Grand Master Koneru Humpy
She was born on March 31, 1987 at Gudivada in Andhra Pradesh. Her parents Koneru Ashok and Latha Ashok originally named her Hampi. The name is derived from the word “champion.” Her name was later spelt as Humpy.
As a former chess player himself, her father Koneru Ashok introduced her to chess when she was five. He used to tell her about the Polgar sisters Susan, Judith, and Sophie as these are some of the top chess players in the world. And she came close to their record.
Also: Koneru Humpy wins Skolkovo FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2019
In 1998, Humpy took part in the world under-10 competition and clinched the gold medal. In 1999, at the Asian Youth Chess Championship, held in Ahmedabad, she won the under-12 section. She was competing with the boys there.
In 2002, Koneru achieved the feat of becoming the youngest woman ever to achieve the title of grandmaster (not solely a Woman Grandmaster) at the age of 15 years, one month, 27 days, beating Judit Polgár’s previous mark by three months.
In 1999, at the Asian Youth Chess Championship, held in Ahmedabad, she won the under-12 section. She was competing with the boys there.
In August 2014, she married Dasari Anvesh. At present, she is employed at ONGC Ltd. She is also the recipient of Arjuna Award and Padma Shri award as well.
Besides her, Dronavalli Harika and Bhakti Kulkarni are other strong players to watch out for. Padmini Rout has also made her mark in the chess world. She earned the title of “Grandmaster” in Gibraltar after beating the Grandmaster Tamir Nabaty of Israel in 2015. The Biju Patnaik Sports Awardee for the year 2007 and the Ekalavya Awardee in 2009, Rout is a player to look forward to.
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