Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy has withdrawn from the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament, citing concerns over her personal safety amidst the West Asia conflict.
Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy is uncertain about competing in the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus due to safety concerns amid the West Asia conflict, despite assurances from FIDE.
The Cyprus Chess Federation president has criticised Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy's withdrawal from the Candidates Tournament, citing unfounded security concerns and disrespect for organisers and players.
Top seed Grandmaster Koneru Humpy scored a crushing victory over Elina Danielian of Armenia to jump in to the sole lead in the second round of IS Bank Ataturk FIDE Grand Prix chess tournament in Istanbul.
Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy won the first edition of the I S Bank Ataturk Women Grand Prix chess tournament, defeating Marie Sebag of France in a nail-biting finale. She finished the tournament with a commendable 8.5 points out of a possible 11.
Indian chess grandmaster Koneru Humpy defends her decision to withdraw from the Candidates tournament in Cyprus due to safety concerns amid regional tensions, stating that playing peacefully is impossible when surrounded by warships.
The two-day World Blitz Championship in both the Open and Women's categories commences in Doha, on Monday, December 29.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has sought to allay security concerns surrounding the upcoming Candidates Tournament in Cyprus, emphasising that safety measures and contingency plans are in place despite regional instability.
Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine will replace Koneru Humpy in the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus after Humpy withdrew due to safety concerns related to the region's proximity to the West Asia conflict.
Koneru Humpy edged Chinese GM Lei Tingjie in the tiebreaks in the semis to set up an all-Indian final against compatriot Divya Deshmukh in the FIDE Women's Chess World Cup.
R Vaishali also made it to the next round, defeating Ouellet Maili-Jade of Canada in another Indian victory of the day while Divya Deshmukh ousted Kesaria Mgeladze of Georgia.
Humpy bagged the award after receiving the highest number of votes from the fans.
Grandmaster Koneru Humpy held China's Tingjie Lei to a comfortable draw with black pieces, while Divya Deshmukh's solid defence frustrated former women's world champion Zhongyi Tan in the first game of the FIDE Women's World Cup semifinals in Batumi, Georgia, on Tuesday.
Grandmaster R Vaishali emerged victorious at the Women's Candidates Tournament, earning the right to challenge Ju Wenjun for the World Championship title.
Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy won the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024-25 (Pune leg) title on the basis of her superior tie-breaks over Zhu Jiner of China after the two players were tied for the top spot on Wednesday.
Vantika Agrawal humbled former World champion Anna Ushenina in the second round of FIDE Women's World Chess Cup in Batumi, Georgia, on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi for winning a bronze medal at the World Blitz Championships in Doha, saying it mirrored the country's rapid strides in the sport.
Apart from Tan, top seed Tingjie Lei of China also made it to the semifinals at the expense of Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia.
D Gukesh emerged victorious after a bruising, nerve-jangling marathon battle against Vincent Keymer, and R Praggnanandhaa outplayed Alireza Firouzja but world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen suffered a rare opening-round defeat at Norway Chess, which began amid towering bookshelves at the historic Deichman Bjorvika public library in Oslo.
Ace Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy once again demonstrated her strength in positional play as she defeated Polina Shuvalova of Russia in the fourth round of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Pune on Thursday.
Koneru Humpy defeated China's Zhu Jiner to jump into sole lead with 5.5 points after the seventh round of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Pune on Monday.
Humpy settles for bronze after coming close to World Rapid title; Erigaisi finishes third
In 2002, she became the first Indian woman to achieve the GM title, securing her place in chess history. Today, she remains India's top ranked women's player in the country.
While Vantika, Harika and Vaishali have an uphill task in the first set of tie-break games, they can still make it to the round of 16.
This marks the first time that four players from a single country have reached the quarter-finals of the FIDE Women's World Chess Cup.
Indian International Master Divya Deshmukh made a huge stride forward, defeating second seed Jiner Zhu of China in the first game of the pre-quarterfinals of the FIDE World Women's Chess Cup in Batumi, Georgia, on Wednesday.
FIDE Women's World Cup final: Humpy draws with Divya in first game
Reigning champion Koneru Humpy displayed her trademark composure and tenacity to remain in joint lead in the women's section.
With her family in tow, Humpy met the PM and described it as a "once-in-a-lifetime privilege."
'She is now a role model for the upcoming young generation. And I am sure that this victory will definitely motivate and inspire the Indian women, and those who are coming up.'
The tie-breaker, which will be a series of shorter-duration games, will be played on Monday to determine the winner.
The Indian GM beat Woman Grandmaster Xu Yuhua of China in the second game of the quarter-finals of the Women's World Chess championship.
Teen prodigy Divya Deshmukh stunned seasoned grandmaster Koneru Humpy in a tense tiebreak to win the 2025 FIDE Women's World Cup in Batumi, Georgia, rewriting Indian chess history at just 19.
The Indian GM beat Maxim Sorokin in the first round of the eight-match Ilapuram Grandmasters Chess tourney.
Grandmaster Divya Deshmukh has said she was not under any kind of pressure while playing the FIDE Women's World Cup final against compatriot Koneru Humpy as she had "nothing to lose".
The Indian GM drew her fifth round match against the Russian in the Irlapuram Grandmasters tournament in Vijaywada.
The Indian GM trails the Russian by a point in the eight-round Hotel Ilapuram Grandmaster chess tournament.
Viswanathan Anand shares his views on R. Praggnanandhaa's chances at the upcoming FIDE Candidates tournament, highlighting potential rivals and the tournament's significance.
A draw would have sufficed but Grandmaster Koneru Humpy showed no mercy and recorded her second successive win against Shen Yang of China to storm into the semifinals of the World Women's Chess Championship in Nalchik (Russia).
The Grandmaster defeated Dinesh Kumar Sharma in the 8th round of the National 'A' chess championship.