Koneru Humpy bags 2019 World Rapid Chess title

Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy claimed the 2019 Women’s World Rapid Chess Champion tiltle. The winner of Women’s World Rapid Championship was decided in a playoff that ended with Humpy beating China’s Lei Tingjie in a dramatic final in Moscow, Russia.

Key Highlights

Humpy, who is India’s best-ever women’s chess player, was crowned world women’s rapid champion at the same venue where Norwegian grandmaster and also classical chess champion Magnus Carlsen won men’s title in space of a few minutes.

This is a significant win for Humpy, who had taken a two-year sabbatical from 2016 to 2018 after she became a mother. She is now more at ease in classical format and was clearly trying to take her skills in rapid format to a new level.

About World Rapid Chess Championship

It is a chess tournament held since 1987, to determine world champion in chess played under rapid time controls. Prior to 2012, the FIDE (international organization that acts as the governing body of international chess competition) gave such recognition to a limited number of tournaments, however, since 2012, FIDE has held an annual joint rapid and blitz chess tournament and called it as Word Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships. It also holds Women’s Word Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2019