Grandmaster Koneru Humpy’s comeback journey continued in the women’s FIDE Grand Prix in Monaco on Saturday night, finishing runner-up and retaining the World No. 3 (Elo 2580) position.
Crucial loss
Humpy told The Hindu on Sunday, a ninth-round loss to German Elisabeth Pahtz had affected the final analysis.
Russian Aleksandra Goryachkina went into the last round with a full-point advantage over Humpy and Alexandra Kosteniuk (eventual champion).
The Indian would have won the title if Kosteniuk had lost to Pahtz.
But, the former World Champion won convincingly and emerged winner thanks to a better tie-break.
Humpy will not play the third of the Grand Prix series in Lausanne (March 1 to 14, 2020) as the result there would not affect her standing. She would, instead, like to devote the time to improving her game, she said.
She would next play the women’s World rapid and blitz championship from December 25 though it “is not my cup of tea being a classical player”.
“Since I am being eliminated in tie-breakers in the knockout formats, I want to improve my game,” she said.
Sounds confident
The difference between the World No. 2 and Humpy is just four ranking points, and she is confident of regaining the slot she held for more than a decade before her break from the game due to family commitments saw her lose it.
“Yes, there are areas of concern in my opening game which I want to work on with my father-cum-coach (Koneru Ashok),” signed off Humpy, happy with the way things are going for her.
