Humpy Koneru

Who is Humpy Koneru?

Humpy Koneru is an Indian chess Grandmaster. Her January 2010 FIDE Elo rating was 2614, placing her number two in the world for women's players. In 2007 she surpassed the rating of 2577 set by Susan Polgar to become the second-highest ranked female player in history. She became the second female player ever, after Judit Polgár, to exceed the 2600 Elo mark.

From 2002 through 2008, Koneru held the record as the youngest woman ever to become a grandmaster, which she achieved at the age of 15 years, 1 month, 27 days, beating Judit Polgár's previous mark by three months; however, this has since been surpassed by Hou Yifan.

Koneru was originally named "Hampi" by her parents, who derived the name from the word "champion". Her father later changed the spelling to Humpy, to more closely resemble a Russian-sounding name.

In 2001 she won the World Junior Girls Chess Championship. In 2006 she participated in the Women's World Chess Championship, but was eliminated in the second round. In the Women's World Chess Championship 2008 she made it to the semifinals, but was beaten by Hou Yifan. In 2009 she tied for 1st–4th with Alexander Areshchenko, Magesh Panchanathan and Evgenij Miroshnichenko in the Mumbai Mayor Cup.