Her name is not often heard in the noise created by the young bunch in Indian women’s chess. She remains near the spotlight, not directly under it. If Koneru Humpy is the pillar and Divya Deshmukh and R Vaishali are the faces of the new generation, where is she?
D Harika is very much there and the best-performing Indian woman in the Global Chess League (GCL) played in Mumbai at the moment. With two wins and three draws, she has helped the Upgrads Mumba Masters move up to second at the halfway stage of the competition.
Triveni Continental Kings are leading with 12 points. Mumba have nine. The top two of the six teams will make it to the final after the double-leg, round-robin league. Harika played a part in the three wins posted by her team in five rounds of this IPL-style chess extravaganza played in rapid format at the iconic Royal Opera House.
An unsung part of the gold-winning Indian team at last year’s Chess Olympiad, who has been outshone by Divya and Vaishali of late, Harika remains a strong player in the women’s game across formats. The player turning 35 in January is the world No. 11 in rapid. The youngsters are behind her.
The Mumba Masters think-tank is following a specific strategy. In GCL, two of the six boards are contested by women. This category is called ‘Superstar Women’. Harika’s ELO rating in rapid is 2435. For Mumba, Humpy plays on the first board in this section and Harika on the second. Four of her five opponents are rated below 2400. Only Alexandra Kosteniuk (2450) of Triveni is rated above her.
This ploy ensures that Harika doesn’t play against the three players rated above her, who are on the first board. It has worked so far, considering Harika drew with Kosteniuk and Nino Batsiashvili and beat the other three. Rated 2346, Georgian Nino is the best-performing woman player of the event so far. Harika is second.
It’s an interesting stage in the career of the mother of a three-year-old girl. She doesn’t play as many tournaments as Divya and Vaishali, who have overtaken her in rankings in the classical format with some sparkling performances.
Divya beat Harika in the women’s World Cup quarterfinals before overcoming Humpy in the final to become the youngest winner of the crown. Both qualified for the Candidates. Vaishali won the Grand Swiss to qualify for the elite event for the second time.
Harika has got somewhat left behind, but she can still produce results. She played three of the six legs of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2024-25 and claimed bronze in Nicosia after a fourth place in Pune.
The GCL will be immediately followed by the World Rapid and Blitz in Doha. This is an opportunity for Harika to build momentum and see where she stands when the last competition of the year starts on Christmas Day.
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