India's chess master Koneru Humpy wins Cairns Cup tournament

St Louis: India’s woman chess Grand Master (GM) Koneru Humpy won the Cairns Cup tournament following a draw against compatriot Dronavalli Harika in the ninth and final round here.

Humpy, who was crowned world champion in the last week of December 2019, finished the chess tournament with 6 points on Sunday (local time).

Reigning world champion Ju Wenjun finished second with 5.5 points after winning her final round game against Russia’s Alexandra Kosteniuk (5 points). Kosteniuk ended fourth in the tournament. Harika finished tied fifth with 4.5 points.

She had started off her campaign with a win over Carissa Yip of the US but suffered a defeat in the second round to Mariya Muzychuk before bouncing back strongly.

She played a solid game to hold world champion Wenjun Ju and then registered wins against Nana Dzagnidze and Alexandra Kosteniuk.

A victory over Valentina Gunina in the penultimate round helped her pull ahead of the field and all she needed was a draw against Harika.

Last year, Koneru managed to win the 2019 women’s world rapid chess championship after defeating China’s Lei Yingjie in the final playoff match. Courtesy the win, Humpy would be gaining five ELO rating points and will move to the second spot in the world list. IANS

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