Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy tied for first place with Zhu Jiner at the FIDE Women`s Grand Prix event held in Pune. This strong performance propelled Humpy to second place overall in the Grand Prix series standings. This is a crucial outcome for Humpy`s aspirations, positioning her among the top two players in the series, which serves as a qualification path for the 2026 FIDE Women`s Candidates tournament. The winner of the Candidates event will challenge the reigning world champion, Ju Wenjun, for her crown in 2027.
The Grand Prix series consists of six tournaments. Twenty players compete in the series, with each player participating in a maximum of three events. Each individual Grand Prix event features up to 10 players. Participants earn points based on their finishing position, ranging from 10 points for tenth place up to 130 points for first place.
The Pune event was the fifth of the six tournaments in the series; only one event remains, scheduled for Austria next month. Koneru Humpy has now played in her maximum of three events. Her results include a tie for fifth place in Kazakhstan, a three-way tie for first place in Monaco, and now this shared victory in Pune.
Current Standings
Aleksandra Goryachkina currently leads the series with 308.34 points, having also finished her three tournaments. Humpy is in second place with 279.17 points after completing her events. Heading into the final event in Austria, only three other players have a mathematical chance to overtake Humpy: Anna Muzychuk, Zhu Jiner, and Tan Zhongyi. All three of them are scheduled to play in the Austrian tournament.
Ahead of the Austrian event, Jiner has 235 points, Muzychuk has 189.17 points, and Zhongyi has 170 points.
Qualification Scenarios for Humpy
Since Humpy has completed her events, her qualification depends entirely on the results of Jiner, Muzychuk, and Zhongyi in the final tournament in Austria. For Humpy to maintain her second position and qualify, none of these three players must surpass her total points.
Zhu Jiner has the most straightforward path among those chasing Humpy. She is currently 44.17 points behind. A finish of sixth place or higher in the Austrian event would allow Jiner to overtake Humpy in the overall standings.
If Jiner finishes seventh or lower, Anna Muzychuk could potentially qualify. Muzychuk would need a top-two finish to surpass Humpy`s score. If Muzychuk finishes third, she would tie Humpy on points (279.17). Tie-breaks would then apply; specifically, Muzychuk would need to score at least 6.5 points in the Austrian tournament while finishing third to win the tie-break against Humpy.
Tan Zhongyi faces the most challenging task. To overtake Humpy, she must win the Austrian event *outright* (no ties for first place). Even a shared victory would not be enough for her to pass Humpy`s total points. This scenario also assumes Jiner and Muzychuk do not achieve the results necessary to surpass Humpy themselves.
Other Qualification Paths for Indian Players
Humpy is the only Indian player with a realistic chance of qualifying *directly via the Grand Prix series*. However, other prominent Indian players like R Vaishali, D Harika, and Divya Deshmukh have opportunities to qualify through alternative routes.
Furthermore, even if Humpy does not qualify through the Grand Prix, she will have other chances to secure a spot in the Candidates tournament.
Overview of Alternative Qualification Routes
The 2024-25 Grand Prix series is one of four methods to qualify for the Candidates. The top two players from this series earn a spot. Besides the Grand Prix, two major events later this year offer further qualification chances.
The first is the FIDE Women`s World Cup, a 128-player knockout tournament scheduled for July in Batumi, Georgia. The top three finishers from the World Cup will qualify for the Candidates.
Another opportunity is the FIDE Women`s Grand Swiss tournament, a Swiss-system event taking place in September in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The top two players from the Grand Swiss will secure their Candidates spots. Notably, in the previous cycle, R Vaishali and Vidit Gujrathi qualified for their respective Candidates tournaments via the Grand Swiss.
Additionally, one place in the Candidates is allocated to the highest-ranked player based on performances across selected FIDE Women`s Events in 2025-26.
Unlike the system for the Open Candidates, which considers a wider range of events, the FIDE Women`s Events 2025-26 ranking specifically focuses on major championships. These include the World Rapid and Blitz Championships (both formats for 2024 and 2025), the 2024-25 Women`s Grand Prix Series, the Women`s World Cup, and the Women`s Grand Swiss.
Koneru Humpy won the World Rapid Championship in 2024. This result, combined with her other performances, places her currently second in the FIDE Women`s Events 2025-26 ranking, behind only world champion Ju Wenjun (who is already qualified for the World Championship match and thus not eligible for a qualification spot via this route, effectively meaning Humpy is currently in a qualifying position). If Humpy maintains a high position in this ranking, she could qualify for the Candidates via this fourth pathway.
Marcus Bellamy