Harikrishna begins with draw at Shakmir chess meet

Shakmir (Azerbaijan), April 21: Indian Grand Master P. Harikrishna started off his campaign at the Shakmir chess tournament by settling for a draw against Russian Sergey Karjakin here on Friday.

The World No.14 Indian 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 will see Harikrishna vie for a better spot in the table on Saturday.