K. Humpy

Former World rapid chess champion Koneru Humpy.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“The Global Chess League is quite an interesting one to have a league with mixed teams of men, women and junior players. Apart from that, having a corporate like Tech Mahindra will definitely have a bigger impact in the chess world. This is one of the bigger reasons for us to take part in this event. This league will be an inspiration for organisers all over the world,” former World Rapid chess champion Koneru Humpy said on Monday.

For the record, the League, a joint-venture of Tech Mahindra and the FIDE, will witness six teams competing in a minimum of 10 matches each in a double round-robin format competing in the rapid chess format from June 21 to July 2 in Dubai.

“This is the first time an Indian corporate group is coming forward to organise a Chess league. Chess is changing now, and the organisers are trying to make it more spectacular to attract more audiences. We also enjoy shorter time formats in a fun way, which will be more entertaining for the audience,” she said.

“We have many Grandmasters now from the country and we were the fastest-growing country in chess at the time,” said the 36-year-old Humpy, a two-time Asian Games gold medallist.

Humpy believes that with the current rise in women’s sports across the world, there is a lot of scope for female athletes to continue pursuing their sport even after attaining motherhood.

“There are a lot of mothers who are successful in their sporting careers now. I am proud to see that I have been able to manage both,” she said on taking care of her five-year-old daughter Ahana and playing chess too.

“The growth of women’s chess players in India is quite low as compared to men’s growth. There are a lot of youngsters in the men’s circuit, but there are quite a few in Women’s Chess. For the population and talent we have, the number is quite less and we can improve upon that.”