Harika at fifth spot in world chess rankings

After a commanding performance in the recently concluded Isle of Man international chess tournament, Indias Grand Master Harika Dronavalli broke back into the top five in the world chess rankings.

This is the second time during this year that Harika has scaled to the top five, soaring on a series of wins in international tournaments.

Harika not only finished with 5.5 points in the Isle of Man tournament that saw some of the best chess players in action but also emerged as one of the top woman players at the event.

She won as many as four games out of nine, including a breakthrough victory over world no. 1 Hou Yifan of China. She drew three other games and lost only two in a highly demanding format.

"It is a huge confidence booster for me. I had attained my career best ranking of five in July but there was a dip in my rankings after that," Harika said.

"I wasn't happy at all with the slide and I worked really hard. I am happy that it has paid dividends and I have attained my first goal. I am now looking forward to moving further up," she added.

--IANS

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