Shenzhen Longgang: Harikrishna begins with a draw against Svidler

Harikrishna, playing with white, began aggressively. But Svidler, the World No. 20, thwarted him with effective defence.

P. Harikrishna, playing with white pieces, drew with Peter Svidler.

Grandmaster Pentyala Harikrishna started his campaign at the Shenzhen Longgang Chess Grand Master tournament with a draw against Peter Svidler of Russia here on Thursday.

The World No. 14, with an ELO rating of 2758, playing with white, began aggressively. But Svidler, the World No. 20, thwarted him with effective defence.

With the clock ticking away and pressure mounting on both players, they decided to share the point after 30 moves.

The tournament, which is being played in a double round robin format, features five other Grandmasters.

The winner will pocket a prize money money of USD 12,000 while the runner-up and the third-placed will get USD 6,000 and USD 4,000 respectively.