Humpy Koneru Wins Ankara Grand Prix
Official Website Report
Humpy Koneru won the 6th stage of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Ankara and placed second in the overall Grand Prix series after Hou Yifan. Hou Yifan had already clinched first place in the overall Grand Prix cycle and is the current Women's World Champion.
Round 11 was as thrilling as it was expected. All attention turned to the games which would identify the winner. Humpy Koneru confidently won against Monika Socko and had to wait for the outcome of the game between Ruan Lufei and Anna Muzychuk. Victory could have given Slovenian player second place in the Grand Prix series but she missed a good chance and game was drawn.
Another important game for the final standings was played between Zhao Xue and Tatiana Kosintseva. A draw guaranteed Zhao Xue the bronze medal in Ankara. Both Turkish players Kubra Ozturk and Betul Yildiz lost in the 11th round to the higher rated Viktorija Cmilyte and Antoaneta Stefanova respectively. Munguntuul Batkhuyag won against Ju Wenjun and finished the tournament with +1.
FIDE Ankara Women's Grand Prix Final Standings
| # | Name | Fed | Elo | Pts |
| 1 | Koneru, Humpy | IND | 2593 | 8½ |
| 2 | Muzychuk, Anna | SLO | 2606 | 8 |
| 3 | Zhao, Xue | CHN | 2549 | 7½ |
| 4 | Cmilyte, Viktorija | LTU | 2520 | 6½ |
| 5 | Ruan, Lufei | CHN | 2492 | 6½ |
| 6 | Munguntuul, Batkhuyag | MGL | 2434 | 6 |
| 7 | Kosintseva, Tatiana | RUS | 2524 | 5½ |
| 8 | Ju, Wenjun | CHN | 2528 | 5 |
| 9 | Stefanova, Antoaneta | BUL | 2502 | 4½ |
| 10 | Yildiz, Betul Cemre | TUR | 2341 | 3½ |
| 11 | Socko, Monika | POL | 2463 | 2½ |
| 12 | Ozturk, Kubra | TUR | 2294 | 2 |
.
Ankara Grand Prix winner Humpy Koneru
.
.
Second placed Anna Muzychuk (right) drew with Ruan Lufei in her final game
.
.
Zhao Xue (left) finished in third place
.
.
.
.
.
So Humpy Koneru earns the right to be the challenger for the women's world championship in 2013 (assuming Hou Yifan retains her title in the 2012 KO championship). If Hou Yifan loses her title, then she will become the challenger to the new champion in 2013.
Report adapted from the official website. Photos from the official website. Games via TWIC.
