Indian ace Koneru Humpy takes silver after mediocre start
Posted Date – 11:54 PM, Fri – 12/30/22
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Almaty: Indian ace Koneru Humpy took silver in the women’s division of the FIDE World Chess Blitz Championship on Friday after a mediocre start.
She finished strong in the 17th and final round, defeating Tan Zhongyi, who won the World Rapid Championship a few days ago.
After picking up just four wins and sitting in the mid-40s from Thursday’s first nine rounds, the 35-year-old Humpy was at his best on day two of the event, picking up an impressive seven victories and edging out compatriot Dronavalli. Draw in round 14 in Harika.
She scored 12.5 points, just half a point behind champion Bibisara Balabayeva of Kazakhstan.
One of the highlights of Humpy’s performance of the day was her victory over China’s Zhongyi Tan in the 17th and final round, sapping her opponent’s chances of adding gold in the Rapid World Championships.
Humpy finished sixth in the Rapid Championship prior to the Blitz. She is a former champion of the World Rapid Championships.
“A perfect day for me, 7.5 points from 8 games and first silver medal in the Women’s World Blitz Chess Championship!” Humpy wrote on Twitter.
Harika, who finished with 10.5 points, had to settle for 13th, while Padmini Rout finished 17th. Tania Sachdev finished 21st and B Savitha Shri, who took bronze in the Rapid Championship, was 33rd with 9.5 points.
In the Open, world No. 1 Norway’s Magnus Carlsen won with 16 points and no Indian player was able to crack the top 10.
Veteran P Harikrishna, the best Indian in the Open, finished 17th with 13 points, with Nihal Sarin trailing by the same points.
Fast-rising Arjun Erigaisi, the highest-seeded Indian here, ended up at No. 42 after losses in the 16th, 17th and 18th games. Compatriot Vidit Santosh Gujrathi also had his ups and downs, finishing low in 90th.
Carlsen added the Blitz title to the World Speed title he won on Wednesday.
Despite losing to Russia’s Ian Nepomniatchi and Alexey Sarana in round 15, the Norwegian prevailed over Aleksandr Shimanov and Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov in rounds 20 and 21 to finish one point ahead of Hikaru Nakamura (15 points).
Indian players in World Blitz Championships: Women: Koneru Humpy 12.5 (2nd), Harika (10.5, 13th), Padmini Rout (10.5, 17th), Tania Sachdev (10th, 21st), B Savitha Shri (9.5, 33rd).
Men: P Harikrishna (13 points, 17th), Nihal Sarin (13, 18), Arjun Erigaisi (12, 42), B Adhiban (12, 49), V Pranav (11.5, 58), Aravind Chithambaram (11.5, 60 ), Surya Shekhar Ganguly (11th, 72nd), Raunak Sadhwani (10.5th, 83rd), Vidit S Gujrathi (10.5th, 90th), SL Narayanan (10.5th, 92nd ).
