Women's Speed Chess: Koneru Humpy in semifinals

The World No. 2 from Vijayawada showed plenty of character after going 0-2 down against a player who is in top form and is excellent at this format.

Koneru Humpy beat Valentina Gunina 6-5 on Thursday

Koneru Humpy reached the semifinals of the fourth Grand Prix leg of the FIDE Chess.com Women's Speed Chess Championship. She beat Russia's Valentina Gunina 6-5 on Thursday.

The World No. 2 from Vijayawada showed plenty of character after going 0-2 down against a player who is in top form and is excellent at this format.

Humpy came back strongly from her poor start and once she moved ahead, she maintained the momentum till the end. For Dronavalli Harika, another Telugu-speaking woman, it was a forgettable day though, as she was soundly beaten 3-8 by Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia.

READ|

Earlier, World No. 1 Hou Yifan of China stormed into the semifinals with a 7.5-3.5 victory against Zhansaya Abdumalik of Kazakhstan. The fourth semifinal spot was secured by Iran's Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, who surprised Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine 7.5-3.5.