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The FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2019-20 that began with the first edition in Skolkovo was an extremely strong event. It had all the top women chess players in the world including current World Champion Ju Wenjun, her challenger for the next World Championship match Aleksandra Goryachkina, former Women's World Champions Alexandra Kosteniuk, Antoaneta Stefanova, strong players like Kateryna Lagno, Harika Dronavalli, Elisabeth Paehtz, Valentina Gunina and a few more. The tournament was won by India no.1 Humpy Koneru.
Humpy with her champion's trophy | Photo: David Llada / FIDE
With this victory Humpy earned EUR €15,000 and also 160 Grand Prix points. The GP points especially mean a lot because the top two finishers at the end of Women's Grand Prix 2019-20 will qualify to the next Candidates. Each player has to participate in three out of the four Grand Prix events. Their points are accumulated to determine the top two players in the series.
Standings and Grand Prix points at the conclusion of Skolkovo FIDE Grand Prix 2019
All participants at the closing ceremony | Photo: David Llada / FIDE
Humpy's victory is extra special because since September 2016 she had taken a break from competitive chess for two years. In those two years Humpy became a mother by giving birth to her daughter Ahana. For a player like Humpy, who plays at the highest level, two years of break from competitive chess is quite a lot. Humpy made a comeback at the Batumi Olympiad 2018. Her performance there was nothing special and immediately in the next tournament — Women's World Championships 2018, she was knocked out in round two by Jolanta Zawadzka. The rustiness was surely showing.
If there is one quality in Humpy that has helped her to rise to the top in the past, it would be her never say die spirit. She was a fighter right since her childhood. Hardly making short draws, playing in the open section against strong male players to improve her game, and extreme amount of discipline helped her to create a niche for herself in the chess world. Yes, the two year's break had made her lose her top level chess touch. Yes, she no longer could give all her time to chess practice like before as she had a daughter to take care off, but Humpy didn't give up. She fought hard, practiced hard and played in some important events to make her comeback. After nearly a year of persistent work, she had the biggest success in the month of September 2019. Humpy announced her comeback to the world of elite chess by winning the Skolkovo FIDE women's Grand Prix.
After the event. ChessBase India decided to get in touch with Humpy and did a detailed interview where the champion recapped her entire performance at the Skolkovo Grand Prix.
The comeback girl — Koneru Humpy! | Photo: David Llada / FIDE
Sagar Shah (SS): Humpy, first of all congratulations on such a big achievement – winning the FIDE Grand Prix 2019 at Skolkovo. You got a FIDE Wild Card for the Grand Prix series. What were your expectations before the event began?
Humpy Koneru (HK): Thank you very much. In fact I didn’t expect to get entry in this year's series. I felt very happy that I got the opportunity and I would like to thank FIDE for this gesture. My ambition was to play good games and I thought if I manage to be in top three places that would be a good result.
SS: Your results at the Chinese League leading up to the event were very good. Did you feel going into the event that you were playing your best chess?
HK: I played the Chinese league just to stay in touch with the tournament atmosphere. I had a feeling that I was playing some decent chess from this year’s Gibraltar tournament. So I was confident about my chances at the Grand Prix.
A spacious playing hall
SS: How did you find the arrangements at the FIDE Grand Prix in Skolkovo. From the pictures the tournament looked quite spectacular.
HK: This was a very well organized event with modern arrangements. Right from the tournament logo to the venue to everything, it was all very classy.
SS: In round one itself you were pitted against Harika.
FIDE's new rule forces compatriots face earliest in round robin tournaments | Photo: David Llada / FIDE
SS: Harika lashed out with …b5!? Did you expect this? What were your calculations and assessment here during the game?
HK: I saw this move but didn't expect her to play it as I considered this to be bad. I felt I had gained an advantage from the opening and after ...b5 my position should be moving in a winning direction. However, my biggest mistake was that I consumed a lot of time in the opening and missed the winning chances in time trouble.
SS: You made a solid draw against Marie Sebag in round two using the Petroff. Overall, you placed a lot of trust in the Petroff in the event and it served you well.
HK: Yes, it was not easy to prepare openings at this level after a professional break for two years. I found there are a lot of improvements everywhere. So I decided to keep it simple and solid.
SS: Then came this beautiful game against Kashlinskaya where you sacrificed a piece Neg5! How did it feel to execute this combination? It became one of the most popular games for a few days with several YouTube videos and social media sharing it!
HK: Well this opening was prepared few years ago. When she played ...♛c7 it was very much logical to check this possibility and it worked.
Harika observes her compatriot Humpy in action against Kosteniuk | Photo: David Llada / FIDE
SS: You had a completely fine position against Kosteniuk but suddenly you made a mistake and you landed in a very tough endgame.
HK: It was not a mistake. I would say it was a blunder. A blunder to exchange the queens.
White has just played her pawn to h3. Humpy could take on f1 and after ♔xf1 respond with ...♛e4. Instead she played the move 36...♛e3+ which was a blunder. Kosteniuk took the queen and after 37...♜xe3, White continued with 38.♖xf7+ and Humpy landed in a two pawn down endgame.
White is two pawns up. Black's only consolation? The rook on a4 is passive, at least for now.
SS: Did you think you could hold this endgame?
HK: I thought if White can get the rook from the side and place it in front of his pawn, then it would be winning but I didn't see many of the tricks available in the position to Black as well.
45.♖a6! was a tricky way to win this endgame. The pawn cannot be taken on b4 because of 46.g3+ ♚g5 47.h4+ followed by ♖h6. Kosteniuk was unable to find this defence and the game ended in a draw. Check out the detailed analysis of this endgame below.
SS: You made a solid draw against Goryachkina. She basically rose to the top of women’s chess in the years you were not playing. What is your opinion about her as a chess player? What makes her so strong?
Goryachkina will play the Women's World Championship Match against Ju Wenjun in 2020 | Photo: David Llada / FIDE
HK: Well, after my game with Kostenuik I got tired and I was not in a mood to play fighting chess. So I went for an easy game against Goryachkina. She is strong in opening preparations and tactics.
SS: Cramling has just played f4 to stop e5. Yet you went ahead with this move anyway.
In this position Humpy, with Black went for the move 16...e5!
SS: Was this an idea you had seen beforehand or you figured it out on the board?
HK: I found it over the board!
Humpy's next scalp in the event was GM Antoaneta Stefanova | Photo: David Llada / FIDE
SS: In your game with Stefanova, you got an advantage right out of the opening and then you reached this critical position:
Black has just played the move 21...c5, hoping to get some breathing space
SS: Why didn’t you just take the pawn on c5 here?
HK: I got a clearly better position out of the opening. But I overestimated my position. I missed her ♜xf2 in the game. I tried to be too smart and it backfired!
Humpy played the queen to b1 with the intention to hit the rook on a2 and also the pawn on f5. What she missed here was 24...♜xf2! when Black got quite some counterplay in the position. It was not without further adventures that Humpy went on to win the game!
In round eight Humpy scored her third consecutive win on a trot by beating Elisabeth Paehtz | Photo: David Llada / FIDE
SS: The game against Paehtz in round eight was very smooth. Where do you think she went wrong?
HK: Her c5 was bad. It was a complete positional game and I played with better understanding. I feel that my Re7 and h6 were good moves.
The move 19...♜e7 was a waiting / improving move. The queen on d7 is defended and the ball is thrown back in White's court.
20.h6!? Another top class waiting move! The back rank weakness is taken care off and White has to come up with something constructive. Paehtz could no longer play the waiting game and went for 21.d5. While the move played by Paehtz wasn't bad, it fixed the pawn structure and made Black's play in the position quite easy.
SS: In your interview to Keti Tsatsalashvili after the event, you said that the ninth round game against Gunina was really very important. It was a crazy and complicated game.
White's last move h4 is played to activate the rook via h3! Very original play.
SS: How did you assess this position?
HK: Well, the Blumenfeld Gambit came as surprise from her. I decided to handle it in a practical way. I felt the above position had equal play for both sides.
Humpy had a half point going into the final round against Ju Wenjun | Photo: David Llada / FIDE
SS: What was your mindset before going into the final game against Ju Wenjun?
HK: I had a half point lead and playing with the white pieces was a pleasant feeling for me. I thought I shouldn't let go of this opportunity.
SS: Were you tensed when she sacrificed a piece or you had seen it all the way to a draw?
Ju Wenjun took the pawn on a3 giving up her bishop on d3
HK: No, I wasn't tensed. I saw the entire plan when I played 26.♕c3 that after 26...♛xa3 27.♕xd3 a4 I had 28.♕a6! followed by 29.♘c5!
SS: Who are the people you would like to thank and dedicate this victory to?
HK: I should thank my family for their support. My husband and my parents who have taken the responsibility of Ahana while I am playing and my daughter also for letting me practice when I am at home. She has got used to seeing me with chess pieces. There are times when she comes to me and tells, "Mom, you play chess! I will also play here (with her toys)!"
Humpy's strength — her husband Anvesh and daughter Ahana
Humpy's parents who have stood by her side ever since she was a young girl
SS: They say that becoming a mother makes you extremely fierce and you are no longer afraid of anything. Do you feel a change in your perspective towards life and game after becoming a mother?
HK: Yes. Now, I am a more stable person with lots of patience and I have even learnt to do well in the toughest of situations!
SS: Humpy, there are many people who have taken a break from chess for various reasons and want to comeback to it, but are never really able to. After a two-year break, you have managed to make a successful comeback on the chess board. How were you able to do it?
HK: Well, I don’t have any secrets. I worked hard since last six months on my game. For me the toughest was to stay in practice. There are times I wasn’t able to study chess in systematic manner. But when the tournament neared I kept up my focus during the entire event.
SS: Lastly, are you happy with the change in the women’s World Championship cycle. What’s your opinion of the new FIDE administration and their work for women’s chess?
HK: Yes! I think this cycle gives the best opportunity to the strongest players. This format doesn’t have place for luck. You need to play extremely well constantly. FIDE is doing a good job. The number of women's tournament have increased and so has the prize fund. This is obviously good for the development of chess.
SS: Thanks a lot Humpy for your time!
Interview of Humpy by Keti Tsatsalashvili at the end of the event
As on 1st of October 2019, Humpy is now World no.3 , just nine points shy of Ju Wenjun's rating! | Photo: David Llada/FIDE
