World Blitz Championship: Humpy eyeing a grand double

PTI, Dec 30, 2024, 4:14 PM IST

Koneru Humpy

New York: Having achieved the monumental feat of winning the World Rapid chess title for a second time, Indian stalwart Koneru Humpy would be eyeing a grand double when the FIDE World Blitz Championship commences here on Tuesday.

Humpy had on Sunday capped a wonderful year for Indian chess, defeating Irene Sukandar of Indonesia to emerge the FIDE Women’s World Rapid Chess champion.

The Indian had won the event back in 2019 at Georgia and, on Sunday, became only the second player after China’s Ju Wenjun to clinch the title a second time.

At stake is not just the title but a chance to win another USD 60,000 (around Rs 50 lakhs) cheque as the Blitz championship carries the same prize money as Rapid.

The strong Indian contingent is geared up for the championship that will have 13 rounds in the ‘Open’ category and 11 in the women’s section.

Another Indian, Dronavalli Harika is also a formidable force in Blitz, but the fans would be hoping for an improved performance from R Vaishali and Divya Deshmukh, both of whom failed to impress in the Rapid event.

In the ‘Open’ section, Magnus Carlsen, who was disqualified from the Rapid event following a dress code saga, starts as the overwhelming favourite.

But the likes of India’s R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi, France’s Alireza Froujza and Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov can all give the Norwegian a run for his money.

Erigaisi, who missed the opportunity to win the Rapid title which was won by 18 year-old Volodar Murzin of Russia, will have to fight it all over for a place in the 2026 Candidates tournament.