Tbilisi (Georgia), Sep 7 Indian Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna had to settle for a draw against fellow countryman S.P. Sethuraman in the first game of the second round at the FIDE chess World Cup.
The World No.20 Harikrishna, playing with white pieces on Thursday started off on an attacking note but was contained by his opponent from Chennai, who was at his defensive best and led the game towards neutral territory.
Although the game had an attacking element to it, Sethuraman seemed wary of his opponent’s attacking prowess as he left no space for his compatriot to mount the pressure on him. It was after a mere 24 moves into the game that both the players decided to share the spoils.
Harikrishna will now look to change the course of the tie in the reverse fixture of this round and try and settle it before they move into the tie-breaker.
If Harikrishna manages to overcome the second-round hurdle, he will take on either the Dutch GM and World No. 12 Anish Giri or Russia’s Alexander Motylev for his third-round clash.
