India's year in chess became even better on Sunday with Koneru Humpy doing the country proud with a historic second world title in rapid chess, when she won the World Rapid Chess Championship by defeating Indonesia's Irene Sukandar.
Humpy, who previously won the title in 2019 in Georgia, joins China's Ju Wenjun as the only players to secure multiple championships in this format.
"I'm very excited and happy. In fact, I expected it to be a very tough day, like some sort of tie-break. But when I finished the game, the arbitrator told me (about winning), and it was a tense moment for me," said Humpy, who began with black pieces, after her victory.
Humpy's triumph adds to India's remarkable chess achievements this year, following D Gukesh's victory over China's Ding Liren in the classical format World Championship in Singapore.
Throughout her career, Humpy has demonstrated consistent excellence in Rapid championships, securing a bronze medal at the 2012 Moscow event and a silver medal last year in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The Indian No. 1, aged 37, accumulated 8.5 points from 11 rounds to secure her victory.
"This is quite unexpected because the whole year I have been struggling and I had very bad tournaments where I just ended up in last place. So this came as a surprise," she added.
Humpy also shared how support on the family front has helped her continue playing the sport and excel at the same time.
"I think it was possible because of the support from my family. My husband and my parents…they support me a lot. My parents look after my daughter when I travel," she said. "It's not easy to become a World Champion at 37. It's quite difficult when you get older to keep that motivation and stay sharp when required. I'm glad that I made it."
In the men's category, Russia's Volodar Murzin, aged 18, claimed the championship.
Murzin's victory places him as the second-youngest FIDE World Rapid Champion, following Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who won at age 17.
FINAL STANDINGS (Women): 1. K Humpy 8.5; 2-7: Wenjun Ju (Chn), Kateryna Lagno (Fid), Zhongyi Tan (Chn), D Harika (Ind), Alexandra Kosteniuk (Sui), Afruja Khadamova (Uzb) 8 each
Result of Indians: Divya Deshmukh (7); Padmini Rout (6.5); R Vaishali (5.5); Vantika Agarwal, Priyanka Nuttaki, Sahiti Varshini 5 each.
FINAL STANDINGS (Men): 1. Volodar Murzin (FID, 10); 2-3. Alexander Grishchuk, Ian Nepomniachtchi (Both Fid) 9.5 each
Result of Indians: Arjun Erigaisi (9); R Praggnanandhaa (8.5); Aravindh Chithamabaram (8); V Pranav (7.5); Raunak Saadhwani (7); V Karthik (7); Sandipan Chanda (6.5) Harsha Bharthakoti (6.5); Diptayan Ghosh (6)
