CHENNAI: KONERU Humpy will decide on her seconds for the women’s Candidates event over the next ‘week to 10 days’. She had wanted to put in place of action but she fell ill as soon as she returned from the World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Samarkhand at the end of last year.
“I have been sick after returning from Samarkhand,” she told this daily on Thursday. “I have just recovered. I haven’t made any plans as such. Will get down to business in the days ahead. At the basic level, I have just started communicating and have some names in my mind.”
For the time being, her plans will revolve around training at home apart from taking part in one event in Austria in February. “I will be playing an international event in Austria,” Humpy, who had featured in the title match in 2011 where China’s Hou Yifan beat her 5.5-2.5, explained. “Mostly I will be training at home because it’s equally important that I spend time with daughter. Base will be here. I might work with both Indian and foreign GMs.”
She described her 2023 as ‘mixed’ and the one thing she wants to change is the number of second-place finishes she had, either individually or in a team. “Coming to 2023, I had a very mixed year,” the 36-year-old said. “Most of the tournaments I ended up in second -place starting with the Grand Prix in Berlin. We won silver at the Asian Games. My team won silver in the Global Chess League. I won silver in the World Rapid... so it has been very frustrating to say the least. I hope I can change this trend this year.”
The one trend she helped change in 2023 helped the board game have ‘the best year ever from an Indian perspective’. “We used to look forward to the Candidates hoping at least one Indian would be there. This year there are five. Earlier, Russians were the main competitors. India is growing at a very fast pace. There are more youngsters coming through.”
On her Candidates match-up with R Vaishali, who recently became the third women GM from India, Humpy said: “once we go into the tournament, it doesn’t matter. They are all opponents, that’s how any player will look at it. But I’m excited for India’s next generation. This (playing in the Candidates) is not new for me.”
Will Humpy be able to resist the challenge of Vaishali and others and take her place in the title match later in 2024 against China’s Ju Wenjun? Time, as always, will tell.