Humpy starts as the #1 seed, Stefanova #3

Humpy starts rating favourite at Women Grand Prix
Press Trust of India
Saturday, March 7, 2009 (Istanbul (Turkey)

Grandmaster and World number two Koneru Humpy starts as the rating favourite in the IS Bankasi Attaturk Fide Women Grand Prix, starting on Saturday.

Top women players in the world will compete in the event and even though Humpy is the top seed, she is likely to face stiff challenge from the likes of Yifan Hao of China and Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria.

The event will be played on a round robin basis with 12 players clashing in 11 rounds.

At the inauguration ceremony, Humpy drew number 12 which means that she will play five white and six black in the tournament.

She is set to meet GM Pia Cramling of Sweden in the opener and will have black pieces against a tough opponent who is amongst the first few women players to get the Grandmaster title.

The Indian with 2621 rating points to her credit is the second highest rated woman in the world after Judit Polgar of Hungary, who doesn’t play in women events.

The event is a part of the new world

championship cycle and there will be four such events in 2009-2010. Each event carries a total prize pool of 40000 Euros with 6500 Euros reserved for the winner.

Here is the full story.

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