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7/6/2015 – Recently the third-best female player in history, GM Koneru Humpy, forfeited a game and withdrew from a tournament – and explained it to us in a critical interview. Now the Indian Chess Federation is calling on FIDE to sanction Humpy. This could be in the form of a warning or reprimand, a fine up to $25,000, revocations of her GM title and a ban from chess for up to 15 years.

Clarification not sought

According to the complaint, “Only her ignorance of laws led to the incident. If she had any doubt, Humpy was within her rights to ask for clarification from the arbiters. She, however, chose not to seek any clarification.” The letter indicates Humpy breached Rule 2.2.4 which refers to, “Failure to comply with normally accepted standards of courtesy and chess etiquettes” by declining to (immediately) sign the score-sheet after her game.

Further, Humpy violated Rules 2.2.6 (withdrawing without valid reason and without informing the tournament arbiter), 2.2.9 (unjustifiable accusations against an official) and 2.2.10 (that deals with occurrences which cause the game of chess, FIDE or its federations to appear in an unjustifiable unfavourable light and in this way damage its reputation).

Note: the paragraphs above refer to the FIDE Code of Ethics which, according to the Indian journalist who

pointed out this article to us, "contains no regulations to protect a player when officials harass him/her."

“Before the first round Mr. Srivatsan made formal announcements on the number of rounds, time control and the grace time. It is an irrefutable fact that he mentioned only “grace time” but in her letter addressed to the Appeals Committee, Humpy mentioned it as ‘additional time’ which was a clear case of not hearing an announcement properly or not understanding,” points out the letter.

The letter highlights an apparent discrepancy in Humpy’s account saying, “It will be very interesting to note that Humpy, in her letter to the Appeals Committee, mentions another player Tania Sachdev [photo above] who lost in the first round itself on time. So it is very clear that she cannot say that she was not aware of the rule.”

GM Koneru Humpy (Elo 2589) was leading the Commonwealth Championship with 3.0/3

when she defaulted on time and withdrew from the tournament

Making a strong case for action against Humpy, the letter points to the violation of Rule 2.2.11 (any conduct likely to injure or discredit the reputation of FIDE, the events, organisers, etc). “She had deliberately and wilfully damaged the reputation of the organisers and also that of the AICF by giving an interview to the chessbase.com with reckless allegations, which cannot be taken lightly.”

Here's what Emil Sutovsky, President of the Association of Chess Professionals, wrote on his Facebook page:

[The] Indian Chess Federation (AICF) attacks its best female player, ACP Premium Member Humpy Koneru with the appeal to FIDE Ethics Commission and very harsh rhetoric. The ACP is concerned about the situation and will monitor it closely, asking FIDE to investigate this case thoroughly, checking the possible misconduct by the organizers and arbiter(s), which served as a trigger for the whole case. Please, find below Humpy's statement we have received in this regard:

"It`s painful to read such adverse and annoying statements by my own federation published in "The Hindu". But what I have done is for justice and for respect towards chess players in India. I believe change cannot be achieved without difficult situations, struggle or the pain. I wish that in future no player should suffer facing such circumstances."

Previous reports

2015 Commonwealth: Gupta leads; Humpy protests

6/27/2015 – World Champions are always closely watched by the chess world, which follows their example at the board. The current World Champion Magnus Carlsen is no different, in that he has started a trend of… players losing on time! The 2015 Commonwealth Chess Championship witnessed top Indian woman players, GM Humpy and IM Sachdev, losing on time for not knowing the time control.

2015 Commonwealth: interview with Humpy by Sabrina Chevannes

6/29/2015 – "Nobody believes Humpy" was a typical headline in national newspapers, after top female GM Koneru Humpy, who was leading with 3.0/3, withdrew from the event. Like her colleague Tania Sachdev, Humpy had forfeited a winning game after misunderstanding the time control rules. Sabrina Chevannes, who is on the appeals comittee, interviewed Humpy to find out exactly what happened.