Koneru Humpy won silver at the Fide World Blitz Chess Championships on Friday, becoming the first Indian woman to medal at the prestigious tournament.
With 12.5 points, Koneru finished just half a point behind gold medal winner Bibisara Balabayeva of Kazakhstan. The Indian beat China’s Zhongyi Tan to win silver.
“It was a perfect day for me with 7.5 points out 8 games, fetching the first ever silver medal in the women world Blitz chess championship!” Humpy wrote on Twitter.
This was Humpy’s first medal at World Blitz, as per Chessbase India. In the past, she has won the title at World Rapid (in 2019). As per SAI, she is the second Indian to win a medal at World Blitz, after Viswanathan Anand.
In the Open event, India’s P Harikrishna, Arjun Erigaisi and Vidit Gujrathi finished 17th, 42nd and 90th respectively.
Indians at the World Blitz tournament as per PTI:
Women: Koneru Humpy 12.5 (2nd place), Harika (10.5, 13th), Padmini Rout (10.5, 17th), Tania Sachdev (10, 21st), B Savitha Shri (9.5, 33rd).
Men: P Harikrishna (13 points, 17th), Nihal Sarin (13, 18th), Arjun Erigaisi (12, 42nd), B Adhiban (12, 49th), V Pranav (11.5, 58th), Aravind Chithambaram (11.5, 60th), Surya Shekhar Ganguly (11, 72nd), Raunak Sadhwani (10.5, 83rd), Vidit S Gujrathi (10.5, 90th), S L Narayanan (10.5, 92nd).
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!