After enjoying sleepless nights with Ahana, Humpy is back on the chess board!
by IM Sagar Shah
Humpy is a big name not only in Indian chess circles but world over. She was the first Indian woman to become a full-fledged grandmaster and also the second woman player in the history of our game to cross 2600 Elo, the first one being Judit Polgar. It all started when she was five years old. Her father, seeing her extraordinary skills, concentration and keen interest began to play with her. Humpy quickly picked up the game and her father couldn’t believe that she was such a fast learner. For quite some time Humpy's only aim was to defeat her dad. Mr Ashok Koneru was a professor who sacrificed his job to help his daughter fulfill her dreams. He resigned his job to became a full time chess trainer and a mentor for Humpy. At 6 and 7 she won the district and state level tournaments and soon after she won the Under 8 National Chess Championship in 1995. Then winning under 12, 14 and 16 championships at the national level was just a cake walk for her.
At the age of 12 she got the International Master title and at 15, winning the title of Grandmaster was commendable. She was the youngest woman to achieve this. She became only the second woman to have exceeded the 2600 Elo rating mark after Judit Polgar and had a peak rating of 2623 in 2009. In August 2014 she married Dasari Anvesh and took a big break from sport for the sake of her family.
Read Humpy's wedding report published in 2014 on chessbase.com
Sagar Shah (SS): How has been your life recently without too much chess?
Koneru Humpy (KH): Well life is more hectic without chess and this is the first time that I took such a long break....eagerly waiting to come back.
Sagar Shah (SS): How old is your child, what's the name and how has been life as a mother?
Koneru Humpy (KH): My daughter is now 13 months old now and we named her "Ahana". Enjoying sleepless nights and learning many new things to handle her.
Sagar Shah (SS): You are playing after a break of two years. What brought you back?
Koneru Humpy (KH): Well I played my last tournament in 2016 and now Ahana is 13 months old. I think now I can start travelling again for chess events.
Sagar Shah (SS): What is your aim for team India?
Koneru Humpy (KH): The ultimate goal of everyone is to win a medal in the Olympiad but I feel that above all we need to enjoy the game and not keep too much pressure.
Koneru Humpy got a FIDE Nomination to play in FIDE Women's World Championship 2018 and will be joining Harika Dronavalli, Padmini Rout and Bhakti Kulkarni to represent India in 64 players FIDE Women's World Championship 2018 scheduled to be held from 1st - 25th November 2018 at Khanty-Mansiysk in Russia.
Recently the Indian state of Kerala experienced one of the worst floods in a century. Severe flooding has hit the state with unusual high rains and landslides and according to reports from the state, the death toll reached 474 and 36 people were still missing. ChessBase India organised a live show on the 22nd of August 2018 at 8 p.m. to raise funds for the flood victims which featured the third GM of Kerala, 14-year-old Nihal Sarin analysing some of his best games of chess. A lot of people came forward and supported the cause by contributing. The total amount collected and donated to Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund was Rs. 1,74,463. Among the Indian chess players it was Koneru Humpy who made the largest contribution of Rs.25,000.
