Humpy's comeback tale

SOMETIME in 2024, Koneru Humpy thought of leaving chess.

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN

SOMETIME in 2024, Koneru Humpy thought of leaving chess. It wasn't an epiphany or anything but that thought was there, swirling in her head. On the board, results had refused to come and she had lost ranking points.

At the women's Candidates in Canada, she also had to deal with the loss of her maternal grandfather. During that first week in Toronto last April, she used to play games on autopilot. After those matches, she retreated to her hotel room to grieve.

After the first six rounds, she had two points. Joint last, four draws, two losses. Even if she came storming back to finish joint second, the young mother had thought her moment to fight for the World Championship match had come and gone.