Meet Koneru Humpy, the cool old lady player of Indian chess

It was the beginning of the new millennium when Hampi, born in Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh in 1987, was hailed as a chess sensation as she became the youngest woman to achieve the Grandmaster title in 2002 at the age of just 15. . Ashok Koneru, her father a lecturer in chemistry and himself a competent chess player who had won the South India Open in 1985, saw early inspiration in her and started showing the first moves to his five-year-old daughter at home.

Humpy achieved a milestone by winning three gold medals at the World Youth Chess Championship in 1997 and followed it up by winning the British Women’s Championship in 2000 and 2002. Another notable performance came in 2011 at the Gibraltar Chess Festival where she finished one point behind and half a point. A group of leaders that included several high-ranking Grandmasters.

Humpy created history by becoming the second female player after world champion Judith Polgar to cross the 2600 ranking at the age of 20. After a few low-profile years, he carved his niche as a key member of the emerging Indian team. Victorious in the Online Chess Olympiad in 2020.

According to an ANI report, the buzz is that Hampi – who has already received the Padma Shri and Arjuna award – has now been nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the All India Chess Federation (AICF). Vidit S Gujrati, MR Lalit Babu, Adhiban Bhaskarani, SP Sethuraman, Padmini Raut and Bhakti Kulkarni have been recommended for the Arjuna Award and Abhijit Kunte for the Major Dhyan Chand Award respectively.