India's Savitha Shri B and Koneru Humpy during World Rapid Championship in Doha. (PHOTO: FIDE/Lennart Ootes)
The Women’s World Rapid Championship 2025 in Doha ended in heartbreak for veteran Indian Koneru Humpy, who failed to defend her Rapid title and had to settle for bronze on Sunday.
Entering the 11th and final round tied for first with Zhu Jiner and Aleksandra Goryachkina, the 38-year-old Humpy only needed a win against her 18-year-old compatriot Savitha Shri B to secure the championship outright after Zhu and Goryachkina had already drawn their games.
Instead, Humpy faltered from a completely winning position and was forced to split the point, leaving the three-way deadlock intact at the top with each of them being undefeated throughout the event and scoring 8.5 points from 11 rounds.
While Humpy was mentally preparing for tiebreaks to determine the eventual champion, an unusual FIDE regulation denied her a shot at the playoffs.
FIDE introduced new regulations in September 2025 for the World Rapid & Blitz Championship following the major controversy of 2024, when Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi agreed to end their match early and share the title despite the regulations requiring them to play until a decisive result. Among several changes for this edition, one stipulates that a tied knockout or playoff match will be decided by a final sudden-death game (Armageddon).
However, the tiebreak rules differed between the Open and Women’s sections: in the Women’s section, only two players tied for first could proceed to tiebreaks for the title, whereas in the Open section, anyone tied for first would be eligible. Humpy was part of a three-way tie for first but was ranked third, which denied her a chance to compete in the tiebreaks.
The 2025 Women’s World Rapid Championship has concluded! 🏆👏 A mini blitz match will decide the World Rapid Championship title! 🤷♀️
If there is a tie for the 1st place, the top two players in the final standings according to the tie-break criteria (see Article 4.2.4.1) shall… pic.twitter.com/BHTY6Ysnc3
— Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) December 28, 2025
The FIDE’s rule 4.2.4.2 of the Women’s World Rapid Championship regulations states: “If there is a tie for the 1st place, the top two players in the final standings according to the tie-break criteria (see Article 4.2.4.1) shall play a play-off match to determine the Women’s World Rapid Champion.”
Thus, despite tying for first, Humpy was barred from competing further, a restriction that would not have applied had she been in the same situation in the Open section.
Goryachkina defeated Zhu Ziner in the tiebreaks and was crowned the latest Women’s World Rapid Champion. In the Open section, Norway’s Magnus Carlsen won the Rapid title, while India’s Arjun Erigaisi claimed a bronze, his first major individual medal.