Shenzhen Masters: Harikrishna beats Adams, takes top spot

The World No. 14 Indian has a tally of 1.5 points in this elite event after two rounds. He had eked out a comfortable draw against Russia’s Peter Svidler in his opening round yesterday.

Harikrishna is the only player to have won a match so far at Shezhen Masters

India’s Pentyala Harikrishna registered a thumping victory over England’s Michael Adams in the Shenzhen Longgang Grandmasters chess tournament to jump to the top spot here today.

The World No. 14 Indian has a tally of 1.5 points in this elite event after two rounds. He had eked out a comfortable draw against Russia’s Peter Svidler in his opening round yesterday.

Playing black, Harikrishna unleashed his trademark aggressive game to keep the higher ranked (World No. 12) Adams under constant pressure. A series of exchanges saw the two left with a pawn each on the board. But Harikrishna had an extra knight too, which he manoeuvred perfectly to create the stage for an outright win. Adams had no choice but to concede the point.

Harikrishna will next take on the top-rated Anish Giri of Netherlands. Giri, the World No. 11, is currently placed fifth after two rounds.

Incidentally, Harikrishna is the only player to have won a match so far.

The Shenzhen Masters, which is being played in a double round-robin format, features six Grandmasters.