Harikrishna holds Francisco in second round of Moscow tourney

Moscow, May 14 :  Indian Grand Master Pentala Harikrishna played out a thrilling draw against Spanish GM Francisco Vallejo Pons in the second round of the Moscow FIDE Grand Prix here.

The World No.16 Indian, playing with black pieces on Saturday, was surprisingly put on the back foot in the 11th move of the game.

"I was surprised with my opponent's move with b3 as it was very simple, yet very interesting and gave him an edge over me because of my double pawns and more active pieces," Harikrishna said after the match.

However, the Hyderabadi did not lose hope after being pushed into a tough position and had to be at his defensive best to stave off the challenge from his Spanish counterpart in a game that lasted for 82 moves. 

"After being pushed back initially, I played a few inaccurate moves and had to defend the game from thereon which I eventually did," added Harikrishna, who has one point after two rounds.