Chess: Harikrishna beats Adams in Shenzhen Masters

Indias Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna registered a thumping victory over Englands Michael Adams in the Shenzhen Longgang Grand Masters tournament here on Friday to jump to the top of the table.

The World No 14 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 on Thursday.

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 now take on the top-rated player of the tournament, Anish Giri of the Netherlands.

Giri, the World No 11, is currently placed fifth after two rounds. Harikrishna is the only player to have won a match so far.

The Shenzhen Master, being played in a double round robin format, features six Grandmasters.

The winner will pocket a prize money money of 12,000 pounds ($14,975) while the runner-up and the third-placed will get 6,000 pounds ($7,488) and 4,000 pounds ($4,993) respectively.

--IANS

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