Konera Humpa’s 9-year-old daughter will remember the silver medal as a gold one

Koneru Humpy, her daughter Ahana and husband Dasari Anvesh BENGALURU: As her father sat in the VIP lounge at Lalit Ashok on Sunday talking about what it means to be married to one of India’s most revered grandmasters, nine-year-old Ahana was not interested in any of it. Her mind was focused on the playing arena just a few meters away where Koneru Humpy and her APL Pipers team were battling for the Global Chess League (GCL) title against the Ganges Grandmasters.As the pair waited for the match pass to reach them, she kept nudging her father, Dasari Anvesh, to take her closer, down from the living room, into the hall, close enough to actually watch her mother play live. Remarkably, this was the first time in her young life that she had seen her mother play a competitive game of chess in person.“This is our first edition of the GCL,” Anvesh told TimesofIndia.com with a smile as he recalled that it was his second after the tournament in Russia. “We’re physically away and the good thing is that Humpy’s team is in the final. So it’s very exciting times.”When asked if he had a message for his mother before the match began, the nine-year-old’s shyness took over; maybe she didn’t quite know what to say to someone she was about to watch for the first time, not as a mother at home, but as a contestant on stage.It is a distinction that her father lived inside for more than a decade.Just this year, Humpy pulled out of the Women’s Candidates in Cyprus, a tournament that stands between the player and a world title shot, citing security concerns amid tensions in the Middle East.“It was a collective family decision,” revealed Anvesh. “It wasn’t the right time. Whenever she wants to play any game, we always support her wherever she wants to go. But at the time, we all felt safety came first and we made that decision collectively, even though it was very challenging.”Humpy, he added, “held on to it and placed importance on family.”It’s the same compromise that has run through their marriage since 2014 and deepened three years later when Ahana was born and Humpy stepped down from the board for a while.“Humpy is able to balance both sports and family,” Anvesh said. “Whenever there is a tournament, she is fully focused and playing for it. But whenever she is not in the tournament, she always prioritizes family, spending time with me, with our child.”“As a mother, as a wife, she gives 100 percent. Family comes first and sports second. Even though she was pregnant, she took time off. She means a lot to her family and her passion for chess always drives her, it’s nice to see how she balances it so well.”He quickly diverted all credit for her play away from himself. “I’m not a chess player. My father-in-law is the head coach who trained Humpy,” he acknowledged. “All credit goes to him. I was the only one who stayed calm and offered emotional support.”

One result, two different reactions

On Sunday, Humpy’s team ended up on the losing side. Stavroula Tsolakidou, playing for black, beat her in the deciding game that handed the title to the Ganga grandmasters, leaving Humpy and her Pipers in silver.At the medal presentation, Ahana and her father sat in the front row and watched her mother rise to receive the silver.For Humpy, a player with almost three decades of medals in every colour, it will record the way these things always do for someone who has spent a career a step away from the top. Another near-miss, a missed shot at gold on the competitive scene.It didn’t register at all for Ahana, who sat in the front row as the medal was placed around her mother’s neck.Clapping at her father’s side, she looked like she might lose her balance from sheer joy.Perhaps she did not applaud for the silver medal. She was clapping because her mother had just finished playing and for the first time she was getting an award for it live right in front of her. It must have been a whirlwind of emotions for her.Somewhere in that gap is the real story of this finale. Humpy, disappointed at the result, barely smiled. However, Ahana was all smiles as she left the play area holding her father’s hand.