Koneru Humpy from India won the FIDE World Rapid Championship 2024 held on Wall Street, New York. She defeated Indonesia’s Irine Kharisma Sukandar in Round 11 to clinch the title. Before this, Humpy was a joint-top finisher at the 2023 Samarkand Rapid Championship but lost in tiebreakers to Anastasia Bodnaruk, who eventually won. This victory marks Humpy’s second World Rapid Championship title. She first won in 2019 in Moscow.
India had a successful year in chess in 2024, with both the men’s and women’s teams winning the Chess Olympiad, Gukesh winning the World Chess Championship, and now Koneru Humpy brings the good news.
Missed events and comeback
Humpy missed the Budapest Olympiad where India won double gold, due to personal reasons. However, she bounced back strongly to win the 2024 Rapid title. Entering the last round, there were seven top players including Ju Wenjun, Kateryna Lagno, Harika Dronavalli, Afruza Khamdamova, Tan Zhongyi, and Irene, who all had 7.5 points after 10 rounds. All top matches ended in draws, but Humpy sealed her victory by defeating Irene.
Final Standings of World Rapid Championship 2024
| Rank | Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Humpy Koneru | 8.5/11 |
| 2 | GM Ju Wenjun | 8.0/11 |
| 3 | GM Kateryna Lagno | 8.0/11 |
| 4 | GM Tan Zhongyi | 8.0/11 |
| 5 | GM Harika Dronavalli | 8.0/11 |
| 6 | WIM Afruza Khamdamova | 8.0/11 |
| 7 | GM Alexandra Kosteniuk | 8.0/11 |
| 8 | IM Bibisara Assaubayeva | 7.5/11 |
| 9 | IM Irine Kharisma Sukandar | 7.5/11 |
| 10 | IM Stavroula Tsolakidou | 7.5/11 |
Who is Koneru Humpy?
Born on March 31, 1987 in Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh, Koneru Humpy became the youngest woman in history to be handed the title of Grandmaster- which she achieved at the age of 15 in 2002. The two-time world rapid champion, having clinched the title in 2019 and 2024, has made history on various occasions- a few include winning gold medals at the Olympiad, Asian Games and Asian Championship. She was also a recipient of Padma Shri in 2007. It is fair to say that Kenoru has changed the landscape of chess in India and her performance and achievements in multiple tournaments have established her as one of the best chess players in the world.
