Harikrish wins opening match

Geneva, July 7 : Indian Grand Master Pentala Harikrish started off his Geneva FIDE Grand Prix on a rousing note defeating Alexander Riazantsev of Russia in his opening game here.

On Thursday, the World No.22 Indian payer, playing with black pieces, had to really dig deep against the Russian but eventually maged to tilt the balance in his favour and clinch the game.

"It was a long game and I had better positions from the initial moments, but it was not easy as my opponent defended commendably. However, it was not enough for him as I kept attacking and the hard work paid off eventually," Harikrish said after the game which lasted 84 moves.

The win will fill the Guntur player with optimism going further into the tourment and Harikrish will be eager to maintain his momentum against English Grand Master Michael Adams in his second-round game.

"Even though I have a positive score against him, I know he's a very strong player and I will hope to put in a good performance and play a good game today as well," Harikrish said on the eve of his second match. IANS