| "I want to improve and become a
Women Grandmaster quickly" Asia's youngest International Women
Master and twice age group World champion at 13 years of
age, that is Koneru Humpy for you. Born at Gudivada, near Vijayawada on 31-03-1987 to
Ashok and Latha, the shy lass took to chess at the age of seven. Humpy who won the first
tournament she played, at Vijayawada in 1994, rose steadily conquering one peak after
another. The sea of awards she won in her chequered career include Sportstar Young
Achiever Award in 1997 and 1998, two gold medals in the Mind Sports Olympiad, London 1999
and the prestigious UNESCO "Millennium Dreamers" Award given jointly by
McDonald's Corporation and Walt Disney Company in association with UNESCO this
year. On 13-04-2000, Humpy shared her views to "Chathurangam" correspondent R R Vasudevan during the
ongoing Category 10 Chalapathi Grandmasters tournament at Lam, Guntur.
 Ms Humpy, Congrats on becoming the youngest
Women International Master from Asia at 13 years of age !!
Thank you. And I was only 12 years and four months old then.
You won two age group
world titles and now you've become a WIM. Which of these you'd put on top ?
I was quite happy winning World titles in France and Spain. But
I'd put the Women International Master title above them.
Winning age group world
title two years in a row, how was it settling for the silver  in Spain this time around
?
I was doing well, but my sixth round loss to Nana in a plus
position cost me the title, as I could not catch her at all.
About your style of play
?
I like to play long games, steady and solid. Basically I
stick to positional play, moving to tactics if required.
And preparation ?
My father is my coach and trainer and usually I
prepare for about six hours a day, mostly on board and with computer also. Also I play
regular training games with my father.
 On your preparation material ?
I use Chess Base and Fritz 5 in addition to my
preparation with my father. Equally, I like to see and study practical games of chess.
How'd you assess your
strength ?
I generally love playing fast, and only get into time
trouble sometimes. But I have to improve my middle and endgames. And I am working on that
with some preference to my positional style.
About the awards for
winning world titles ?
There has been recognition from all around, with awards
coming from Government of
India and Andhra Pradesh. Also the State Association and the AICF give me good support.
And my own school under Chalapathi Group banner is right now organising a closed Category
10 Grandmasters tourney which is a big opening for me.
And on corporate
financial sponsorship ?
In my pursuit for WGM title I have to make around three
trips abroad a year, for playing stronger tournaments. As I travel with my father, who is
also my trainer and coach, a big corporate sponsorship is the need of the hour for this
father & daughter team.
 On mixing of academics and tournament play ?
My school, Chalapathi Residential School, Guntur has been a great source of
encouragement to me. As and when I'm free, my teachers take seperate classes for me. They
recognise my needs and cater to it very well.
Your favourite players
!
Gary Kasparov and Judit Polgar.
Tell us about your best
results with Grandmasters?
My only victory with a Grandmaster was against GM
Praveen Thipsay in this tournament and I have drawn with GMs Shariyazdanov, Ibragimov,
Yurtaev, Aaron Summerscale and Abhijit Kunte.
Following the WIM title,
how was it missing the WGM Norm closely in the  Goodricke Open 2000 at
Calcutta?
It was quite a miss. I had a 3.5/4 start, scoring over
Mithrakanth, Konguvel and Satyapragyan in the early rounds, then lost four rounds
successively starting with the fifth round loss to GM Kaidanov where I misplayed a drawish
position.
Right now, how do you
see your WGM title chances ?
I want to improve and become a Women Grandmaster
quickly. Maybe in about a year I hope to complete my WGM Norm requirements.
We wish you the very
best in your pursuit of WGM title.
Thank you. |
