New Delhi: Indian Grand Master Koneru Humpy won the World Rapid Chess Championship title by beating Irene Sukandar of Indonesia here on Sunday. She previously won the tournament in 2019 at Georgia and joined China’s Ju Wenjun to secure the title more than once.
India’s year in chess became even better after Humpy’s achievement. Earlier, D Gukesh beat Ding Liren of China and became the youngest world chess champion in Singapore. The country also won its first-ever gold medals in the Open and Women’s categories in the Chess Olympiad in Budapest in September. The 37-year-old finished the tournament with 8.5 out of 11 points.
🇮🇳 Humpy Koneru is the 2024 FIDE WOMEN’S WORLD RAPID CHAMPION! 👏 🔥@humpy_koneru #RapidBlitz
📷 Michał Walusza pic.twitter.com/APiFHksB2L
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) December 28, 2024
‘I’m very excited and I feel very happy’: Koneru Humpy
After the victory, Humpy said that she is very happy and expected it to be a very tough day but got to know when the arbitrator told her and it was a tough moment for her.
“So, this is quite unexpected because the whole year I have been struggling a lot and I had very bad tournaments where I just ended up in last place. So, this came as a surprise” she added.
She also said that she was not thinking about the title after her defeat in the first round but things turned out well and winning four back-to-back games helped her. She also faced some challenges and said that it was difficult for her because of the time difference.
“I was lacking sleep. Literally, I haven’t slept properly since coming here. So, it wasn’t easy to play restlessly, but I’m happy that I managed to do it” she added.
“I think it’s high time for India. We also have Gukesh as world champion and now I got the second world title in the rapid event. So, I think this will motivate a lot of youngsters to take up chess professionally” she concluded.
Humpy finished the tournament with 8.5 out of 11 points and became only the second player after China’s Ju Wenjun to clinch the title more than once. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
