Koneru Humpy

Quick Introduction

About Koneru Humpy

Koneru Humpy is a famous Indian chess player. Notably, she is popular for winning the FIDE Women's Rapid Chess Championship in 2019. She was born on 31st March 1987 in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India. Koneru Humpy received the title of "Grandmaster" because of her great skills. She got this title when she was just 15 years old. Koneru had beaten the records of Judit Polgar, and because of such wonderful achievements, Humpy became the second female chess player after Polgar. Koneru Humpy received 2550 FIDE ratings in September 2023.

Koneru Humpy's original name was 'Hampi', but later, her father changed the spelling of her name to 'Humpy' because the previous spelling sounded like a Russian name. The meaning of the word Humpy is champion which she has proved as well. She was a very intelligent and focused child from childhood. Humpy was introduced to chess at age five. In 2014, she married Dasari Anvesh, and in 2017, she gave birth to a baby girl named Ahana.

Koneru Humpy is working with the India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). She has won many medals and awards and is counted in India's list of great personalities. In 1999, Koneru Humpy received the title of Asia's youngest Women International Master (WIM), and in 2023, Humpy won Silver at Women's Tata Steel India Chess Tournament Blitz. Koneru Humpy was introduced to the game Chess by her father, and she described the Polgar sisters as her inspiration and always followed their techniques. Chess is a very strategic game that originated in India, and currently, about 189 countries are registered with FIDE.

Humpy's father was very fond of chess. He always used to play this game, and Humpy also learned to play chess from her father. Humpy's father always wanted her to become a chess player, and thus he supported Humpy throughout her journey. When Humpy was eight years old, his father left his job and decided to train her in chess. Fortunately, Humpy won all championships she participated at the age of 10, 12, 14 and 20. At the age of 15, Humpy became the youngest chess player and received the second rank. After winning this championship, she became famous throughout the country, and people started to know her. Her ELO ranking is still maintained to date, and she is ranked 16 times among girls. She is now also known as the 'Queen of Chess of India'.

Career

Humpy was introduced to chess when she was just five years old. Thus, she started focusing on the game to grab all the commands necessary to become a champion. Humpy was interested in chess when she was young, and her father always directed her to the right path to become a chess champion. Humpy joined coaching classes for chess when she was eight years old.

In 1997, she won her first gold medal in the World Youth Chess Championship in the under-ten girls' division category. In 1998, Humpy won another gold medal in World Youth Chess Championship under-12 girls' category. Two years later, in 2000, she again won the World Youth Chess Championship gold medal in the under-14 girls' championship category. By the next year, in 2001, Humpy won World Junior Girls Championship. In 2002, Humpy got the title of eighth female Grandmaster. She also played against boys and won many matches. For the first time, she participated in the Women's World Chess Championship in 2004, and after that, she competed in almost every chess tournament. In 2003, Humpy won tenth Women's Indian Championship and Indian Women's Championship. In 2009, she took part again in the tournament, which was held in Mumbai.

Humpy took part in FIDE Women's Grand Prix, held from 2009 to 2011, where she held second; Hou Yuan won that match and became a champion. From 2011 to 2021, Humpy participated in FIDE women's Grand Prix. While participating in the FIDE Women's Grand Prix, she started with the gold in 2009. Besides, she won a bronze in 2010, another bronze in 2015, a silver in 2016, and another silver in 2023. Apart from these, she won gold in the FIDE Women's Grand Prix in the rest years.

In 2020, Humpy won the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award. In 2022, Humpy competed in the Chess Olympiad as part of the Women's India team and won the bronze medal. Throughout Humpy's journey, her father supported her and went to almost every tournament she attended.

Awards

In 2003, Koneru Humpy won Arjun Award, and in 2007, she was awarded with Padma Shri award, one of India's most prestigious awards. In 2021, Koneru Humpy won the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award. She got another award in 2021, named Sport Star Aces Sportswoman of the Decade. In 2022, she won the title of Player of the Chess Tournament at the PSPB Inter-unit Chess and Bridge Tournament, which was held in Mumbai.

In 2008, Humpy was awarded with Raja Lakshmi Award by the Raja Lakshmi Foundation of Chennai. She is now known as the best Indian female chess player. She is considered equivalent to Vishwanathan Anand and holds the best rank among the female chess players of India. Humpy holds the world's second ranking in the best female chess players list. Judit Polgar holds the number one position; she is known as the world's number one female chess player.