Koneru Humpy Bounces Back With A Bang
Each month FIDE publishes a new official rating list. Right after the release, let’s take a look at the list and identify the most interesting developments. Koneru Humpy of India did exceptionally well recently.
The FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2019-20 that began with the first edition in Skolkovo was an extremely strong event. It had all the top women chess players in the world including current World Champion Ju Wenjun, her challenger for the next World Championship match Aleksandra Goryachkina, former Women's World Champions Alexandra Kosteniuk, Antoaneta Stefanova, strong players like Kateryna Lagno, Harika Dronavalli, Elisabeth Paehtz, Valentina Gunina and a few more. The tournament was won by India no.1 Humpy Koneru.
The Skolkovo FIDE Women's Grand Prix was a 12-player round-robin held in Skolkovo, near Moscow, Russia, from 11-22 September 2019, with a rest day on 17 September. Tournament director: Yana Sidorchuk. The tournament formed the first of four stages of the 2019-20 Women's Grand Prix, which would determine two places in the World Championship Candidates (Women) (2021) tournament, each of the 16 players in the series playing in three of the four events. Players received 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 more minutes to the end of the game, plus a 30-second increment starting from move one. The prize fund was 80,000 euros, with 15,000 euros and 160 Grand Prix points for the winner. No draw offers allowed before move 30.
Koneru Humpy with her champion's trophy | Photo: David Llada / FIDE
FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Skolkovo became the main catalyst for rating changes among women. Humpy Koneru, on her way back from two-year hiatus, won the event, picked up 17 points and edged out Alexandra Goryachkina from the 3rd place. Despite losing one position, the Russian also increased her rating by 11 points. The Women’s World Champion Ju, Wenjun, who was second in the event, and Elizabeth Paehtz earned 10 points each.
Humpy Koneru of India. Photo credit: David Llada/FIDE.
Koneru Humpy from India, and not Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun from China, won the Women's Grand Prix in Skolkovo, Russia. Humpy took over the lead after the ninth round and didn't let go.
Harika observes her compatriot Humpy in action against Kosteniuk | Photo: David Llada / FIDE
The Indian grandmaster scored 8/11 games with 6 draws and 5 wins. She won 15,000 euros and earned a spectacular 160 Grand Prix points. Ju tied for second place with Aleksandra Goryachkina, and both earned 11,000 euros and 120 GP points.
Humpy Koneru won a key game versus Valentina Gunina in round nine. Photo: David Llada/FIDE.
The remaining three Grand Prix tournaments will be held in December 2019 (Monaco), March 2020 (Lausanne, Switzerland) and May 2020 (Sardinia, Italy). The Grand Prix winner and the runner-up qualify for the Women's Candidates' Tournament to be held in the first half of 2021.
Here we have all the 5 wins (analyzed games) of Koneru Humpy.
Right after the Tournament concluded. Pic courtesy: Elo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 GP 1 Koneru 2560 * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 8 160 2 Ju Wenjun 2576 ½ * ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 7½ 120 3 Goryachkina 2564 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 7½ 120 4 Lagno 2545 ½ 1 ½ * ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 6½ 90 5 Paehtz 2479 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 6 75 6 Gunina 2502 0 0 ½ 1 0 * 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 6 75 7 Harika 2503 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 * ½ 0 ½ 1 1 5 60 8 Kosteniuk 2495 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ * 1 0 ½ 1 4½ 45 9 Kashlinskaya 2487 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 * 1 ½ 1 4½ 45 10 Stefanova 2491 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 * ½ ½ 4 25 11 Sebag 2450 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * 0 4 25 12 Cramling 2487 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 * 2½ 10
