2 days Ago
NEW YORK: India’s rendezvous with chess continues uninterrupted as Koneru Humpy won the world rapid chess championship title for the second time. Humpy won the title with 8.5 points after defeating Indonesia's Irene Kharisma Sukander in the 11th round at the Wall Street in New York.
This is Humpy’s second World Rapid Chess title after winning the title in Moscow in 2019. She also has the rare achievement of winning the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship twice after China's Ju Wenjun. Earlier this month, Dommaraju Gukesh brought glory to India after becoming the world champion defeating China's Ding Liren.
Andhra native Koneru Humpy’s latest triumph will be the icing on the cake to end the year with. Humpy now 37, won a bronze medal at the 2012 Rapid Championships in Moscow and a silver medal in Samarkand, Uzbekistan last year. Humpy started playing chess at the age of six and dreamed of becoming a world champion when she won the national chess title two years later.
At 15, she achieved the title of Grand Master, a world record, but the world title remained a far-fetched dream. After taking a hiatus from the sport for marriage and family life, Humpy returned to Moscow to take home the World rapid chess title. Koneru Humpy was born in Vijayawada, Andhra in 1987.
Her father Koneru Ashok, a college teacher, was also a state chess champion. Humpy took her lessons in chess from her father and later got fixated with the game..
