Koneru Humpy Reaches FIDE World Cup Semifinals

In the midst of the limelight that India's male chess players have been getting, it is easy to miss what the women have been doing. Especially Koneru Humpy, India's top ranked female player, who has just qualified for the semi finals of the FIDE World Cup in Batumi, Georgia.

The World Cup is a knock-out tournament which this year saw 107 leading players, including 17 of the top 20, participating. Getting into the semis is a significant achievement. Humpy won the quarterfinals against   Song Yuxin in a two-match format. She won the first and then held on to a draw in the second to prevail 1.5-0.5 points and move into the top four.

Humpy, 38 years old, started playing chess at the age of 5. In 2002, when she was 15, she became India's youngest woman and the first to be a grandmaster. She has been in good form in recent times. Last year, she was part of the Indian team that won the gold at the Chess Olympiad where countries face off against each other. In April this year, she won the Pune Grand Prix.

Reaching the semifinals pits her against top seed, Tingjie Lei of China. The World Cup is one of the most coveted trophies in the chess world, but it is also a stepping stone to the biggest prize a chess player can hope to achieve, the World Championship. Finishing in the top three at the World Cup leads to an entry into the Candidates' Tournament, whose winner will challenge the current world champion, Ju Wenjun, who has held the title since 2018.