Koneru Humpy Exclusive | Veteran GM confidently says ‘I am stronger’ when comparing herself to young challengers

Veteran Indian grandmaster Koneru Humpy continues to defy age at 38. The two-time Women's World Rapid Chess Champion, the second of which came late last year, had an outstanding performance at the recently concluded FIDE Women's World Cup, where she defied the odds to reach the final. Although she fell short against compatriot Divya Deshmukh in the summit clash, her runner-up finish secured a spot in the Candidates Tournament, giving her a genuine opportunity to challenge the reigning champion Ju Wenjun for the World Championship title.

In an exclusive conversation with Firstpost, Koneru Humpy discussed various aspects of her career and life. The women’s grandmaster reflected on her FIDE World Cup performance and tagged herself as "lucky", stating that the tough tie-breaker against top seed Lei Tingjie of China could have gone either way.

“I was also lucky in some of the rounds up until the finals", she said. "I somehow survived. I played a very tough tie-breaker in the semi-final. The match against world number 3 could have gone either way.”

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'I am much more stronger': Humpy on competing with youngsters

While Humpy suffered a loss to the 19-year-old Deshmukh in the final, she remains unfazed and considers herself stronger than the emerging young chess stars in the country. However, she did not deny having drawbacks but feels she can match the youngsters and only needs to improve her stamina.

"I am much more stronger. Sometimes the result don't reflect that. I do have drawbacks. I don't have the same energy as the youngsters. I need to improve my stamina," she said.

Humpy has been exceptional for India throughout her career, displaying phenomenal consistency that allowed her to reclaim her position among the best even after a lengthy hiatus. She took maternity leave in 2017 and returned to the circuit at the end of 2018. Since then, she has been a force to be reckoned with.

On balancing motherhood and chess

On being asked how she juggles the role of being a mother and a chess player, she said, "It has not been easy. I was not a completely professional player post-2018. I was playing tournaments, but there were moments when I played matches with just 10-15 days of practice. It is never easy to sustain at this level. For the past two years, I have been doing well. The level of competition is quite high - Especially the preparation part. Unless you put effort and time into the sport, it is hard to achieve results."

"I am balancing. But I definitely miss my daughter when I am playing. Till July, it was a completely hectic schedule. My daughter missed me and was counting days. Sometimes you need to sacrifice to achieve something", she added.

Watch the full conversation here: