FIDE 2017 Moscow Grand Prix: Harikrishna holds Hammer in opening round

Indian Grandmaster P. Harikrishna began his Grand Prix Chess series campaign with a hard fought draw against Jon Ludvig Hammer of Norway.

P. Harikrishna started off aggressively against Jon Ludvig Hammer but found himself on the backfoot with a miscalculated move.

Indian Grandmaster P. Harikrishna began his Grand Prix Chess series campaign with a hard fought draw against Jon Ludvig Hammer of Norway here.

The World No. 16 Indian, playing with white pieces, started off aggressively against his lower rated opponent, but found himself on the backfoot with a miscalculated move.

“I made a mistake by playing Ra1, after which my opponent could keep the bishop and I had to defend for a draw from there on,” Harikrishna said after the match.

The Indian seemed undeterred even after the initial mistake and fought hard to lead the 93-move game towards neutral territory.

“Jon should have won the game, but I am glad to have finished with a draw in a really hard fought match,” Harikrishna added.

Harikrishna, the sole representative from India, making his debut in the Grand Prix circuit, will surely have his sights set for the Candidates Tournament 2018.

“I am really looking forward to give my best throughout the series and hopefully break into the Candidates Tournament,” the hopeful Harikrishna said.

This is the second leg of the Grand Prix series and will see 18 of the 24 invited players feature in the competition which offers an extravagant prize money of 130,000 euros.

The FIDE Grand Prix Moscow 2017 will be played at a time control of 100 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, and then 15 minutes to the end of the game, with a 30-second increment from move 1.