A tie-break too far, Harika loses in semis
NEW DELHI: If one has to sum up Harika Dronavalli’s journey in the World chess championship in Tehran, it is a journey of grit, determination and coming back from the brink.
From staring at elimination to squandering good positions, from some magnificent performances to some poor ones, Harika’s journey in the tournament has been a rollercoaster. Her performances in the tiebreak situation in Tehran have earned her the nickname, “The Tiebreak Queen.”
In the semifinal against Tan Zhongyi, Harika was staring at elimination but she held firm and managed to stay alive. She won the second classical game to take the matter to the tiebreak before eventually losing 5-4 in the Armageddon game.
In the tie-breaks, the see-saw battle continued. After winning the first 25-minute rapid in just 17 moves Tan bounced back by encounter.
After losing the first 10-minute rapid in 60 moves, Harika stormed back into contention by winning the second game in 79 moves. After drawing the blitz game, the focus shifted to the Armageddon in which Harika was playing with white. After a marathon 99-move game, Harika ran out of time and Tan advanced to the final.
In the process, Harika had to settle for bronze for the third straight championship, having won the medal both in the 2012 and 2015 editions.
Although she failed to create history it has been a memorable
PACQUIAO TO FIGHT AMIR IN ‘SUPER FIGHT’
Manila:multiple world champion Manny Pacquiao has agreed to fight Britain’s Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan on April 23 both boxers said on Sunday “Negotiations between team Pacquiao and team Khan have come to terms for the April 23 bout as this is what the fans wanted,” Pacquiao tweeted.
The 30-year-old Khan, who won silver as a lightweight at the Athens Olympics, has not fought since last May when he moved up two weight classes to fight mid dleweight Canelo Alvarez.
The much bigger Mexican proved too powerful and the Briton was knocked out in the sixth round and he is likely to drop back to welterweight to fight Pacquiao, who holds the World Boxing Organisation title