Harikrishna begins with draw


 

Indian Grand Master Pentala Harikrishna started off his campaign by settling for a draw against Sergey Karjakin from Russia here in Shakmir, Azerbaijan.

 

The World No. 14 had to share the spoils against his higher rated Russian counterpart after a long and hard fought match which lasted a total of 40 moves. From the initial stages of the match Sergey wanted to catch the Indian by surprise, but the Hyderabadi lad handled the situation tactfully and led the game towards neutral territory.

 

Both the players, with time ticking by had to settle for a draw at the end of day one at the Shakmir Chess 2017 tournament. At the end of the day’s action, Harikrishna now sits on fifth position in the points table.

 

The 10-man round robin tournament which offers an exorbitant prize purse € 100,000 and € 25,000 for first place, will see Harikrishna vie for a better spot in the table tomorrow.