World Rapid Chess: Koneru Humpy joint-second after three wins and a draw

The defending champion has six points after eight rounds; Alexandra Kosteniuk leads the pack ahead of the final day of the rapid event.

Published : Dec 28, 2021 13:19 IST

India’s Koneru Humpy will face Alexandra Kosteniuk on Tuesday.
India’s Koneru Humpy will face Alexandra Kosteniuk on Tuesday.
lightbox-info

India’s Koneru Humpy will face Alexandra Kosteniuk on Tuesday.

Defending champion Koneru Humpy posted three wins and a draw to jump to the joint-second spot in the women’s section of the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship 2021 in Warsaw, Poland.

With three victories in a row, and a draw against Polina Shuvalova in the eighth round, Humpy has reached the top board and will be facing leader Alexandra Kosteniuk on the final day of the rapid event. The Indian chess ace beat Julia Movsesian (Czech Republic), Marta Michna (Germany) and Ekaterini Pavlidou (Greece) in rounds five, six and seven, respectively, late on Monday.

REPORT - DAY ONE

Young WGM R. Vaishali is the next best Indian in the 12th spot with 5.5 points, while Padmini Rout is 23rd having garnered five points so far. While Vaishali got the better of Ukraine’s Inna Gopanenko in round eight, Rout defeated Russia’s Baira Kovanova.

Kosteniuk is on 7.5 points, one and a half (points) ahead of the rest of the field after eight rounds, with the last four to be played later on Tuesday.

Carlsen leads

In the Open event, World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen has 7.5 points after nine rounds, half a point ahead of everyone else. He is chased by three players, all on seven points - Russia’s Alexander Grischuk and Ian Nepomniachtchi and the big surprise of the tournament, 17-year-old Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan.

ALSO READ - Indian Chess League to begin in June, 2022

Following a draw in round six with Baadur Jobava, Carlsen demolished the challenge of World No. 2, Alireza Firouzja, the 18-year old. Carlsen finished the day on a high, with a win over the fast-rising Pole Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

Among Indians, Mitrabha Guha and D. Gukesh both have six points after nine rounds and are placed 22nd and 23rd, respectively.

Gukesh posted wins over Nikolas Theodorou of Greece and Tigran Petrosian of Armenia in the eighth and ninth rounds, while Guha beat Russia’s Alexandr Predke in the eighth before securing a draw in the contest against former world championship challenger Sergey Karjakin in the subsequent round.

GM Abhimanyu Puranik (5.5 points) lies in 48th spot while the highest rated Indian in the fray - P. Harikrishna (seeded 18th) languishes in the 122nd position with four points.

Young GM Harish Bharathakoti, who started well, has dropped to 29th spot with 5.5 points.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment