Mother of all comebacks: Humpy is World Rapid champion

Indian GM had taken a 2-year break from chess when she became a mother

Moscow, December 29

Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy claimed the World Women’s Rapid Chess Championship title after drawing the Armageddon game against Lei Tingjie of China.

The 32-year-old Indian made a stunning comeback, winning the 12th and final round game against another Chinese player, Tang Zhongyi, to force the tie-breaker against Tingjie.

“When I started my first game on Day 3 I did not imagine I would be at the top. My hope was to reach the top-three. I did not expect to play the tie-break games,” said Humpy, who had taken a two-year sabbatical from 2016 to 2018 after she became a mother.

‘Gambling game’

“I lost the first game on time but came back in the second game. It was a gambling game, but I won. In the final game, I had a better position and it was a comfortable win,” she added.

Starting as the thirteenth seat, Humpy scored 9 points in all to match Tingjie and Ekaterina Atalik of Turkey. Humpy had a good beginning to the event scoring 4.5 points in the first-five rounds and then a loss against Irina Bulmaga of Russia pulled her back. Needing a strong finish, Humpy won the last two rounds.

However, the Indian ace required a little luck as Tingjie had to lose to Atalik, which happened. The drama was still not over as Humpy lost the first tie-break game, and then won the second to reach the Armageddon game. Humpy drew black colour, which meant that a draw was enough for her to clinch gold. Tingjie had to settle for the silver and bronze went to Atalik.

Humpy got a winning position after a tactical stroke that netted her queen for a rook by move forty. Twenty-six moves later, Tingjie agreed to draw in a hopeless situation.

Meanwhile, Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the open section scoring 11.5 points out of a possible fifteen rounds. Iranian star Firouza Alireza, who played under FIDE flag, won the silver ahead of American Hikaru Nakamura. — PTI

BOX BOX BOX

2nd after Anand

Viswanathan Anand had won this title in the open section in 2017, and Koneru Humpy has become only the second Indian to win the rapid gold in the current format.

In 2002, Humpy had become the youngest woman ever to achieve the title of Grandmaster (not solely a Woman Grandmaster) at the age of 15 years, 1 month, 27 days. Humpy’s record was broken by Hou Yifan in 2008.

Humpy got married in 2014 and stopped playing chess for nearly two years from 2016 to 2018 when she became a mother. Within a year of returning to the game, she has won this prestigious title.