Koneru Humpy held her closest competitor Wenjun Ju to a quick draw in the final round to clinch the Fide World Grand Prix title in Skolkovo with 8 points from 11 rounds. The other India in the day, D Harika finished sixth.
Humpy had won four games in a row before the final round and that run meant that she only needed a draw to clinch the title.
In the last round, she had the advantage of playing white against Wenjun, who is the reigning World Champion. A few players still need to finish their final games but no one can catch up to Humpy.
The Grand Prix is a series of four tournaments. The top two finishers from the series will qualify for the Candidates match, which will determine the challenger for the World champion, to be held in 2021.
A player will get to play three Grand Prix tournaments; the other three will be held in Monaco (December 2 to 15), Lausanne (March 1 to 14) and Sardinia (May 2 to 15).
The top 6:
1. Koneru Humpy (Ind) 8/11; 2. Ju Wenjun (Chn) 7.5/11; 3. Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus) 6.5/10; 4. Kateryna Lagno (Rus) 6.5/11; 5. Valentina Gunina (Rus) 5.5/10 6. D. Harika 5/11
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