2013 FIDE Women's Grand Prix: Tashkent

GM Koneru Humpy (IND 2607) took clear first place with 8.0/11 -- and I'm very happy for her (I've been following her career since 2001, seems forever!)  Her compatriot, GM Harika Dronavalli (IND 2475) finished in 4th place with 7.5/11.  IM Bela Khotenashvili continues to impress, and I've been a fan of GM Kateryna Lahno (now they're spelling it Lagno) for a long time.  Here are the final standings:

FIDE WGP Tashkent Tashkent UZB (UZB), 18-30 ix 2013															cat. X (2479)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2
1.	Koneru, Humpy	g	IND	2607	*	0	½	½	1	1	1	½	1	½	1	1	8	2641
2.	Khotenashvili, Bela	m	GEO	2514	1	*	½	0	1	0	0	1	½	1	1	1	7	2577
3.	Lagno, Kateryna	g	UKR	2532	½	½	*	½	0	½	1	½	1	1	½	1	7	2575
4.	Harika, Dronavalli	g	IND	2475	½	1	½	*	0	½	0	1	1	½	1	½	6½	2543
5.	Zhao, Xue	g	CHN	2579	0	0	1	1	*	0	1	1	0	1	1	½	6½	2534
6.	Ju, Wenjun	wg	CHN	2535	0	1	½	½	1	*	½	½	½	1	0	½	6	2509
7.	Kosteniuk, Alexandra	g	RUS	2495	0	1	0	1	0	½	*	0	½	½	1	1	5½	2477
8.	Girya, Olga	wg	RUS	2439	½	0	½	0	0	½	1	*	½	½	1	1	5½	2482
9.	Danielian, Elina	g	ARM	2470	0	½	0	0	1	½	½	½	*	½	½	1	5	2443
10.	Stefanova, Antoaneta	g	BUL	2496	½	0	0	½	0	0	½	½	½	*	1	1	4½	2411
11.	Muminova, Nafisa	wg	UZB	2293	0	0	½	0	0	1	0	0	½	0	*	1	3	2320
12.	Nakhbayeva, Guliskhan	wg	KAZ	2307	0	0	0	½	½	½	0	0	0	0	0	*	1½	2185

I got the information, above, from The Week in Chess. For round by round action, results, interviews, and lots of photographs, please visit the official website.

The 12th women's world chess champion, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, finished at 50%. Here she is looking splendiferous at the closing ceremonies:

 

GM Kosteniuk is now playing in the 63rd Russian Women's Championship in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) (October 5 - 14, 2013), with little time to travel from place to place and rest up in between events.

I really like the photo below -- two players, including the winner GM Koneru Humpy, showed up in jeans -- she looks good in jeans.  The chess femmes, as always, range from very attractive to stunningly beautiful.  Check out GM Kateryna Lahno's red heels!  GM Antoaneta Stefanova showed a lot of leg in a dress vaguely resembling a Greek toga.  (Stefanova is scheduled to play in the 3rd Indonesia Open Chess Championship October 9 - 18, 2013 in Jakarta). I was most impressed, though, by GM Elina Danielian in her perfectly fitted and styled "little black dress."  She is looking trimmer and toned and fabulous.

So, what's next on the Women's Grand Prix agenda?

2013 play is finished.  There are three scheduled events in 2014, and in Grand Prix tournaments 3 and 4, GM Koneru Humpy and GM Hou Yifan will once again compete against each other.  Check out the events table below:

Women's Grand Prix Series 2013-2014

Monday, 01 July 2013

Each invitee selects 4 events, and her best three scores are totaled to determine the final rankings for the cycle.  The next event is Khanty Masiysk (I never spell it correctly, I think of it as Kamsky Mansky). 

2011 Women's World Chess Championship - Challenger GM Koneru Humpy

Check out this news from GM Susan Polgar's blog - as always, she's right on top of the current news, despite right now being involved in the Polgar National Open for Girls and Boys: 

[excerpt] On the 5th of March the Grand Prix of Qatar has ended. Humpy Koneru became a winner of Women Grand Prix in Qatar and also got the right to play the match against Hou Yifan.


GM Koneru Humpy of India

Soooo, I garner from this report that there will NOT be a sort of "candidates' match" to determine the final challenger (from among the top finishers in the Women's Grand Prix events) to current Women's World Chess Champion GM Hou Yifan, it is only GM Koneru Humpy of India, who finished with the most points overall!  (Does this mean there are no more Women's Grand Prix events or does a new "cycle" start???  This is so confusing, someone please explain it to me.)

Holy Cow!  No pun intended!  In ancient Egypt the Holy Cow was none other than the powerful and very ancient Goddess Hathor (Hat-hert); I know that cows are also considered sacred in India, but as far as I know, India does not have a cow goddess -- please enlighten me if it does!

My most sincere and heart-felt congratulations to GM Koneru Humpy.  I have been following her career for at least the past 10 years.  I have watched her grow up into a beautiful and accomplished young lady; I have followed her battles to increase her ELO rating and earn those IM and GM norms.  I am sentimentally attached to her.  I do hope this match takes place - it will be highly anticipated by chess fans the world over.

See also Koneru Came From Way Behind to Win Women's Grand Prix.  As GM Polgar points out - Humpy scored 5.5/6 points after the break to win! 

See also Mark Crowther's comments at The Week in Chess -- I think I finally understand (?) what was going on with the points thing in the Women's Grand Prix, but FIDE did NOT help by not having up-to-date information published at its website (at least that I could find -- you would think such important information would be readily obtainable, ha!) regarding the new format to determine the women's chess champion and who would qualify to challenge for the title.  Geez, guys. 

Koneru Humpy - I Want to Be World Champion

‘Winning the World championship is my dream’ Story from The Hindu January 4, 2009 HYDERABAD: World No. 2 Koneru Humpy has decided to compete in more men’s events in 2009 with the specific objective of breaking the ELO 2650 barrier (her current rating is ELO 2621) and for that she is also planning extensive preparations to master some of the complicated lines in the middle-game. Talking to The Hindu during her visit to Hyderabad for the ONGC inter-active coaching camp, in which Super GM Krishnan Sasikiran, Sandeepan Chanda, Neelotpal Das and Konguvel are also involved, the 21-year-old Humpy said the semifinal defeat in the last World championship [that is, Women's World Chess Championship] still haunts her as she had lost that contest from a seemingly comfortable position. “I don’t think I had a moderate year in 2008 given the fact that I won a bronze in the World championship, helped my club Monaco finish second in the European Club championship, finished second after tying for the first place in the Mumbai International event and good rating points in the Spanish Ruy Lopez championship,” she said. Consistent About five years ago, Viswanathan Anand rated Humpy and Pentyala Harikrishna as the potential world champions. Does it hurt her that she is still to win the big title? “Certainly not. The fact that I have been the World No. 2 for more than three years, and considering the fact that Judith Polgar is the No. 1 despite not playing in the women’s circuit for a long time now, is proof that I am consistent at the highest level. But, no doubt, winning the World championship is the dream I am chasing now,” she said. Humpy said she needs to improve her openings repertoire and look for complicated lines especially in the middle-game. “There is no need for a ‘second’ even now. My father (Koneru Ashok) will continue to be my coach and he is capable of helping me realise my dream of becoming a world champion one day,” she asserted. “Yes, it is a pity that not many international Grandmasters tournaments are being held in India compared to countries like China. This is a major handicap for all Indians as playing abroad is a pretty expensive affair and it will be worse given the economic recession now prevailing,” she said. High expectations “I am aware that having won the 2001 World junior championship, expectations on me are naturally high. There is no doubt that I badly need a really big win to silence some of the critics,” Humpy said. “Definitely, the standard of chess has improved a lot in India in recent times. There are many more brilliant players now analysing the positions with a high level of excellence and the game is really getting competitive which is good.” For the first time in her international career, Humpy will be taking a three-month break before competing in an international event.

Koneru Out of 2008 Women's World Chess Championship: The Aftermath

From dnaindia.com Humpy Dumpty had a big fall… Rajesh Pansare Monday, September 15, 2008 04:16 IST MUMBAI: During an interview last year, Grand Master Koneru Humpy tipped Chinese sensation Yifan Hou to match the heights reached by Judith Polgar, the first women’s Grand Master and the highest-rated women’s player. At the Women’s World Championship in Nalchik, Russia, we came to know why Humpy spoke so highly of the 14-year-old Hou. The Chinese denied the top-rated Indian player a place in the final. Humpy has never won the World championship and this time it was Hou who came in the way. Humpy is the best thing going around in women’s chess. She has an ELO rating of 2,622 but Hou is not a walkover. Hou has the fourth-best rating among women (2,557). But what titled the game in favour of the Chinese? Experts believe Humpy has the tendency to choke under pressure, especially when she is a favourite at a tournament. Grand Master Abhijit Kunte said, “Humpy puts a lot of pressure on herself to win the World championship and though she won the early rounds with ease, she buckled under pressure against her Chinese opponent in the first game. Though she won the second game, she never played her normal game from there on.” After being knocked out in 2004 in the semis and 2006 in the second round, Humpy had trained all her energies towards clinching the World title, the only trophy missing from her cabinet. But like in the previous editions, she failed to deliver. She even withdrew her name from the Indian squad to take part in the Olympiad, to can concentrate on this event. And though, she had achieved her peak rating in July this year, she was not in the best of form going in this tournament. Dronacharya awardee and chess coach Raghunandan Gokhale has an interesting take. “Humpy likes to take part in the men’s tournament because she is an underdog with no pressure on herself. But that’s not the case in the women’s tournament, where everyone expects her to win. Being the highest rated women’s player automatically puts a lot of pressure on her. As a result she doesn’t perform to the best of her ability.” Humpy’s loss means India were denied the distinction of having reigning champions in all the major categories. She could have joined the list of other champions like men’s world champion in Viswanathan Anand, men’s world junior champion in Abhijeet Gupta and the women’s U-20 champion in Dronavalli Harika. So how can Humpy crack the code? “Maybe change her coach,” Gokhale felt. “She has been coached by her father (Koneru Ashok) for a long time, who is a good coach, but if she has to improve her game further, she has to train with a foreign coach, maybe a Russian. She has to change her outlook towards the game.” But Abhijit Kunte has a complete different take on Humpy’s game. “She is a pretty strong player and will bounce back from this loss. It’s just a one-off game. She doesn’t have to make any drastic change. She just has to be mentally more strong,” Kunte said.

Humpy Falls Twice in North Urals Cup

Unprecedented as far as I'm aware - GM Koneru Humpy has lost her first two games in this elite women's event! She lost R1 as white to Stefanova; she lost R2 as black to Sebag. Game 3 started at 3:00 p.m. today. Does this mean that Koneru is overrated as the second highest rated female player in the world? I don't think so. What I do think is that several of the players at this year's North Urals Cup are underrated because they play mainly in women-only events (Marie Sebag may be the exception, as she recently earned her third and final GM norm playing in the Men's section at the Individual European Chess Championships).

An Interview with GM Koneru Humpy

She is such a centered, focused young woman, and I admire her (and her chess accomplishments) tremendously. This is one of my favorite photographs of Koneru, receiving the Padma Shri award from A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, President of India, in 2007. She looks lovely - serene, comfortable and confident.

Here is an interview I missed from December 11, 2007 at Latest Chess (there are many photographs too):

Grandmaster Koneru Humpy holds the record for the youngest woman ever to become a Grandmaster, she achieved the GM title when she was 15 years, beating Judit Polgar's previous record by 3 months! She crossed 2600 ELO rating in October 2007 FIDE rating list, presently she is at number two in the world for women (behind Judit Polgar), breaking the record of 2577 set by Susan Polgar for the second highest ranked female player in Chess history.

In this interview with Konery Humpy, she tells us about her recent performances, her views on Indian women's Olympiad chess team, women-only chess events, importance of physical fitness. She also talks about the importance of encouragement and support from family, role of parents. She considers Hou Youifan of China as the best upcoming player who can possibly match with Judith Polgar...We hope our readers would enjoy reading the interview with interesting snaps and famous games of Grandmaster Koneru Humpy.

LatestChess:- Hello Humpy, We are glad to have you on LatestChess. Congratulations for crossing 2600+ ELO rating, you performed very well in European Team Championships and Asian indoor games as well. You must be very happy with your performances.
Koneru Humpy:- Thank you, I'm happy with my performance in European Club Cup. I scored 5.5 out of 6 games with a performance rating of 2800. However, I had mixed results in Asian Indoor Games. I知 not satisfied with my performance in rapid & classical. But, winning against Zhu Chen in the finals and taking Gold Medal in Blitz is satisfactory.

LatestChess:- You almost got selected in the last years India men's chess team for Olympiad, this year if you qualify, would you prefer to play in men's team or considering your need for the women's team, you would play in women's team?
Koneru Humpy:- In case, I get a chance to play in men's team, I'd prefer to play in men's chess only. There is no point in expecting to win a medal in Women Olympiad unless we have players with 2500+ rating.

LatestChess:- According to a study done in London, women chess players play worse against their male counterparts. The survey suggests that Women feel inferior when they play chess against men. We are sure you wont agree with this survey, what are your views on this?
Koneru Humpy:- As you said, I definitely won't agree with this survey. Number of players in women's section is insignificant when compared to men. This number should increase, so that there will be more competition that will enable to strengthen women's chess. As you can observe, now there are more women players with rating around 2500. Earlier we barely had one or two players at that rating level. I'm sure, we can find more women players at 2600 level in future.

LatestChess:- Do you think our culture will be able to make it more conducive for girls to stay in chess as they get older? What's needed to accomplish this?
Koneru Humpy:- In my opinion chess game is more advantageous than outdoor games for girls. Excessive physical fitness is not required in chess as in case of other games. So, girls will be more comfortable to play irrespective of their age. Encouragement and support from family is necessary to continue their career.

LatestChess:- Judit Polgar is famously known for avoiding women-only chess tournaments. Have you ever thought of doing likewise?
Koneru Humpy:- My concentration will be more on men's events. However, I'll continue to play selectively in some official events in the Women's section. Probably Women world Championship will be my next tourney in women's arena.

LatestChess:- What are your views on women-only chess events? Are they useful for encouraging more women to participate?
Koneru Humpy:- Now-a-days, women's events are also gaining popularity. In the recent times, more invitation tournaments like North Urals Cup are being organized in the women's section. Women-only events help a lot. They will encourage more young girls to play chess.

LatestChess:- In India, Many young chess players are ready to take a break in the education and they are fully focused on chess preparations. What are your views?
Koneru Humpy:- I don't think that taking up chess as a career and completely neglecting studies will be necessary at earlier stage. After getting certain level in the game, they themselves should decide their preferences i.e. whether to play seriously or not.

LatestChess:- What big DO or DON'T advice would you offer parents of enthusiastic and talented chess children?
Koneru Humpy:- Parents shouldn't compel children to play chess. If children are genuinely interested in the game, they should encourage them. But, they shouldn't hurry to get results.

LatestChess:- How often do you exercise? Do you think daily physical exercise can help a chess player to cope with pressure and increase brain's ability to concentrate?
Koneru Humpy:- I spend around one hour per day on physical exercise. Exercise is a must for every chess player. As the proverb says, "a sound mind in a sound body", exercise shows a lot of impact on brain.

LatestChess:- Who do you consider the best up coming young female players in the world, aside from yourself? Do you think, any of the current young crop can match with Judith Polgar?
Koneru Humpy:- I consider Hou Youifan of China as the best upcoming player. She is performing outstandingly for her age. If she improves further and shows stability, she can possibly match with Judith Polgar.

LatestChess:- You are the only one who is much closer to the strongest female chess player in the world. What feeling do you get when you are described as one of the best female chess players of all time?
Koneru Humpy:- Being a woman I'm enjoying my status as one of the best female players. But I'll be happy if I am successful among men.

LatestChess:- Could you tell us a few words about you most important career achievements?
Koneru Humpy:- Winning World Junior in 2001 at the age of fourteen and becoming Grandmaster in 2002 at the age of fifteen are important achievements. I consider winning two International Open tournaments in Europe as my best performance so far.

LatestChess:- Where do you see yourself in next one year? What are your expectations?
Koneru Humpy:- My next target is to win Women world Championship. As far as rating is concerned I want to cross 2650.

Humpy Performance in 2007 European Club Cup

Thanks to fruitella for posting the following information at another message board (which shall remain nameless, to protect my reputation): Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy showed some great chess in recently conduced European Club Cup 2007. She played for the team Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo and scored an amazing 5.5/6 with a rating performance of 2800! ,which of course was good enough for her team to win the Womens Championships quite easily. Chessgames.com has some of Humpy's games from that event.

Humpy Becomes Super GM!

From the Hindu online. Congratulations to GM Koneru Humpy, who has reached the 2600 ELO level. Onward and upward!

Humpy elated at rare feat
V.V. Subrahmanyam
Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007

HYDERABAD: For 20-year-old Koneru Humpy, becoming a super Grandmaster is a high point of her career which should only spur her in future.

She became the second woman after Judith Polgar to do so in women’s section.

Speaking to The Hindu on her return from the Dubai international tournament, the former World junior champion said that after a shaky start where she won just 2.5 points from the first five rounds, she never thought of achieving any thing special.

“Especially after the loss to Tejas Bakre I was terribly disappointed. But later things moved dramatically in my favour and a win over top seed GM Evgenij Miroshnichenko of Ukraine (ELO 2671) helped me in winning those crucial ELO points which gave me this rare privilege,” Humpy, the first Indian woman to achieve this feat, said.

How significant is this achievement in the long-term perspective of her career? “Now obviously, it is difficult to sustain this high-level of rating. I have to be consistently brilliant. If you consider the fact that after V. Anand and K. Sasikiran, I am the only other Indian to achieve this feat, you can understand the pressure on me,” she said.

“Honestly, I never thought I would become a Super GM in the Dubai event itself and I dedicate this to my parents — Ashok and Lata,” she said. Perfect platform

Humpy feels that the European Club championship from October 2 to 10 and Macau Asian Indoor Games from October 26, where five gold medals in chess are at stake, should be a perfect platform for her preparations for the next year’s World championship.

“Essentially, I will be looking to improve my opening repertoire and also be a much better player in rapid chess which is likely to be the format for the World championship. And my father Ashok will continue to be my coach,” Humpy said.

“This Super GM title, coming close on the heels of the Padma Shri and my father being nominated for the Dronacharya Award, should only make us try for much bigger things in future,” Humpy said.