Mumbai: Koneru Humpy’s World Rapid title defence last weekend ended with an undefeated run, another medal, a mistake in her last-round endgame that handed her a bronze over the gold in sight. And, divided opinions on social media over a regulation that, although Humpy made it clear wasn’t unfair to her, could do better with uniformity across gender.
Humpy, the face of Indian women’s chess for two decades and longevity in the sport, drew her 11th and final round with Savitha Shri B from a winning position. A win would have given her the title. Instead, she was locked at 8.5 points with Zhu Jiner and Aleksandra Goryachkina, who both progressed to fight for gold over the Indian on a tie-break criteria.
As per FIDE regulations, while all tied toppers in the Open section progress to the tie-breaks, only the top two play from the women. That rule, as Humpy recalled, was also in place at the 2019 World Rapid Championship that she had won. In a similar three-way tie, the third player was left out even then.
“So, it wouldn’t be proper if I say there is some sort of unfairness. It’s just how the rules are. This format has been there for a while,” Humpy, 38, told HT over phone.
“But,” she added, “generally speaking – and this is not about me missing out or something – it would make more sense to have the same format that the men have, for the women as well. Because nobody is an exception. They also deserve the same chances of playing for the gold medal.
“Of course, we respect the rules. I knew when it went to the tie-breaks itself that I would be out of it. And I’m not even upset with that. I felt upset that I could not convert my chance. I felt like it was completely my fault.”
With less than a minute on the clock, from Humpy’s winning position in the endgame, “a kind of a big blunder” from a bishop move turned the game to a 64-move draw. It should’ve been “like a cakewalk win” from that position, felt Humpy.
“I could’ve won that match in many different ways… I even saw that (right) move, but somehow didn’t play it. Maybe it was out of nervousness, or shortage of time, or maybe some emotions came into play,” she said.
“That was the biggest, and only mistake, I would say, in the entire tournament. And that made me lose the gold.”
Shorter time formats are determined more by intuition, reckoned Humpy. And when an intuition gone wrong leads to a costly mistake, like Humpy’s in Doha, it can linger in the mind for longer.
“Of course, it stays,” Humpy said. “It takes time. It’s not easy when you miss out on something, knowing that you had it. It takes a while to get normalised. But we have to move on. We all make mistakes. You can’t stick on with one game and one result.”
Through her long career, the 38-year-old said she has had similar instances of letting her superior position “slip towards the end and spoil the tournament”. “I remember one Grand Prix in Monaco in 2016. I was playing white pieces and just a draw would’ve given me a silver. I played terribly badly, lost the game and ended up 4th.”
Nerves, emotions and stress in that situation invariably come into play, even with all the experience that Humpy now carries.
“But managing these things is different when you’re young compared to older. Nowadays, even if you have a little stress, you feel more pressured. It was easier to handle when you’re young.”
Amidst those youngsters, for a 38-year-old to go unbeaten at World Rapid and top the FIDE Circuit leaderboard for women made it a “satisfying” year overall for Humpy ahead of the Women’s Candidates in March-April.
“I feel happy that I’m able to fight against many of them, even the youngsters who are in the limelight. That way, it’s very satisfying.”
