Isle of Man (Douglas: After winning two straight games at the Isle of Man International Chess tournament, India’s Grand Master Harika Dronavalli settled for a draw against Armenia’s Gabriel Sargissian in the sixth round here late on Thursday night.
Harika had to fight really hard after she quickly found herself in a tricky position, to remain in the top 15 in this elite field.
“Yes, my opponent held the upper hand for the most part in the match. I had to be at my sharpest to get out of this game unscathed,” she said, after eking out a draw.
The World No. 6, with ELO 2542, conceded that it devolved into a complex game, forcing her to go on the defensive. She will however be happy with the result as Sargissian has a much higher rating, with ELO 2670.
Harika will now face her biggest test, having to play China’s World No.1 Hou Yifan in Round Seven. Interestingly, Yifan and Dronavalli are locked with 4 points each in the tournament. Yifan, who was sitting pretty at joint third before the last round, lost to Fabiano Caruana to slip on the ladder.
