Koneru Humpy to skip Chess World Cup in Sochi

Having qualified for the World Championship's Candidates tournament, she isn't sure if participating in another event with more than 300 players is safe during the ongoing pandemic.

Koneru Humpy has decided to skip the Chess World Cup in Sochi, Russia from July 10.

Koneru Humpy has decided to skip the Chess World Cup in Sochi, Russia from July 10.

Having qualified for the World Championship's Candidates tournament, she isn't sure if participating in another event with more than 300 players is safe during the ongoing pandemic.

“I could have taken the risk if I hadn’t qualified for the Candidates, but since I have, by finishing second at the Grand Prix series, I thought there was no need for me to travel to Russia in these uncertain times," she told Sportstar on Friday.

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She sounded hopeful of returning to tournaments after a few months. “I haven’t played an event since February last year and I am itching to get back to the circuit,” she said. “I am planning to play at the Grand Swiss tournament later this year.”

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Even five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand is not playing at the World Cup, but India is still fielding a strong contingent in the form of Pendyala Harikrishna, Vidit Gujrathi, B. Adhiban, Aravind Chithambaram, P. Iniyan, Dronavalli Harika, Padmini Rout, Bhakti Kulkarni and R. Vaishali.