Chess grandmaster Koneru Humpy scripted history on Sunday — becoming the first Indian to reach the FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup semifinals. The 38-year-old passed into the final four after a solid draw in the second game of her quarterfinal clash against Im Song Yuxin of China. Humpy will now face top seed Lei Tingjie for a high-profile semifinal match. India is guaranteed at least two spots in the semifinals with compatriots Divya Deshmukh and Harika Dronavalli heading into tiebreakers.
India guaranteed spot in Candidates Tournament
The top three finishers of the tournament will earn a spot in the Candidates later this year — with at least one Indian woman in the mix. The FIDE Women’s World Cup is the most important event in the World Championship cycle and offers three qualifying spots into the Candidates Tournament. This means three out of four players in the semi-final matches will advance for a shot at the world title. The Candidates tournament is typically limited to eight players with contestants selected from various championships. The winner will earn the right to challenge the reigning Women’s World Chess Champion during the 2026 match — currently Ju Wenjun from China.
Who is Koneru Humpy?
The Indian chess prodigy has won multiple championships over the past two decades — becoming a chess Grandmaster at merely 15 years of age. She is the youngest woman to attain the title, and has spent just one month outside the global ‘top five’ list since 2005. Humpy learnt how to play chess at the age of five after noting her father reviewing games in the Chess Informant publication. The former state champion in Andhra Pradesh had subsequently taught her the nuances of the game, and eventually quit his job as a professor to train and mentor his daughter.
Humpy was winning district-level chess championships by the age of six and eventually secured four Indian national championships: an under-8 title in 1995 followed by under-10, under-12 and under-15 titles in 1996. She also took home two World Youth Chess Championship titles during this period — the girls under-10 title in 1997 and the girls under-12 title in 199
“Humpy is a well-rounded player who is comfortable in positional and tactical positions alike. Perhaps noticeable is her fantastic endgame abilities, which have been on display for quite some time,” Chess.com wrote about the Indian Grandmaster.