Harikrish defeats World No.4 Aronian; grabs top spot

Geneva, July 13: Indian Grand Master Pentala Harikrish dished out a stellar performance to beat World No.4 Armenian GM Levon Aronian in his sixth-round encounter at the Geneva FIDE Grand Prix here. With Wednesday’s win, Harikrish has now climbed up the ladder to be tied first on the leaderboard and stake a huge claim at a spot in the Candidates tourment.

The World No.22 Indian, playing with black pieces, started on a balanced note but capitalised as the top seeded Armenian slipped with a miscalculated move. “It was a balanced position throughout the game but he miscalculated a move and from there on I had the upper hand and won the game,” the 31-year-old from Guntur said.

After the end of six rounds, Harikrish has amassed a total of four points courtesy two wins and four draws. He is now joint first along with Alexander Grischuk and Teimour Radjabov. In the seventh round of the tourment, Harikrish will take on Alexander Grischuk from Russia on Thursday night.

“Grischuk is an interesting player and is playing some solid chess, taking chances when the opponent slips,” Harikrish said. “I hope to keep the run going and play a good game today too,” he concluded. IANS