Koneru Humpy, India's No 1 female player, to return to Norway Chess tournament

Koneru Humpy, India’s No 1 female chess, will compete at the 2025 Norway Chess Women’s tournament, marking her return to the competition after a prolonged absence. The tournament will take place in Stavanger, Norway, from 29 May to 6 June. “It’s an honour to play in the prestigious Norway Chess Women tournament,” Humpy said via a press release.

Koneru Humpy’s achievements in chess

In 2002, Humpy became the first Indian woman to clinch the Grandmaster title and has set benchmarks in Indian chess. Humpy, ranked World No 6 in women’s classical chess, won the 2024 Women's Rapid Chess Championship in December . That was her second Women’s Rapid Championship title, having won the 2019 edition as well. Apart from these achievements, she was also named the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year in 2020.

She has also won gold medals at the Chess Olympiad, Asian Games and the Asian Championships. Koneru Humpy is also only one of two women to surpass the 2600 Elo rating mark in women’s chess, with the other being Hungary’s Judit Polgar.

Humpy, however, skipped the 2024 Chess Olympiad which was held in Budapest, Hungary, where the India Open team and the Women’s team won historic gold medals .

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Kjell Madland, founder and director of Norway Chess, welcomed Humpy back to the tournament. “Humpy’s achievements speak volumes, and we are delighted to welcome her back to Norway Chess Women 2025,” he said.