Harika clinches first Grand Prix

Grandmaster Dronavalli Harika held her nerve on the day to capture the Fide women’s Grand Prix trophy in Chengdu, China, on Thursday.

The Guntur lass, playing with white against Russia’s Olga Girya, had to dig deep into her reserves to pull off a much needed draw to win her maiden career GP title.

Harika finished on seven points in the round robin tournament featuring the world’s top 12 players to be crowned the chess queen in Chengdu.

Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy too rounded off her campaign with a victory to finish on seven points. Harika, however, was declared winner for finishing with a better tiebreak record in the tournament.

“I was in a winning position,” she said from Chengdu. “But I felt the pressure and couldn’t play my best game. I am extremely happy that I managed to win my first Grand Prix title.”

Olga kept Harika at the table for 62 tense moves before finally accepting the draw. The triumph adds a bounty to her

points tally and should see her qualify for the World Championships later this year.

The 25- year- old began the Grand Prix on a positive note, winning her first two games and jumping into the lead. She had to settle for four draws after that and even slipped to the second position. Harika sprang back to the top of the table in the seventh round, when she beat Humpy. She played calmly and smartly to earn draws and win the title.