Harikrishna recovers to finish joint fourth at Chess Classic

Mainz, Germany, Aug 19 (UNI) P Harikrishna made a remarkable recovery and won five of the six games on the second and final day to finish joint fourth at the Chess Classic FiNet Open here.

Playing his sixth game with white pieces, Harikrishna rounded up the game in no time before winning the next two games without any problem. However, he faltered in his ninth game but salvaged the situation in time and averted defeat into a draw.

The only loss he suffered was the 10th game in which he had white pieces against Rook Roberts. The Indian controlled the game in the beginning and tried hard to save the match but finally gave away.

He won the last game against G Lanka with ease and finished the tournament with a commendable score of 8.5 from 11 rounds.

''Yesterday, I played badly losing two games. Today I played much better and won five out of six games. It looks I am always better on the second day. Only if I can play better on the first day than I can succeed. I am satisfied with my performance as I finished in the top 10,'' Hariokrishna told UNI after the match.

The Championship was won by Grandmaster Etienne Bacrot of France who drew his last game against Grandmaster Alexander Grischuk and finished with 9.5 point. After winning eight games in a row, tournament leader and favourite Shakhriyar Mamedyarov lost the ninth and 10th games and drew the last game to take the second place.

Final Standings: 1.Etienne Bacrot 9.5, 2.Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 9, 3.Alexander Grischuk 9, 4.Arkadij Naiditsch, Alexander Morozevich, Andrej Volokitin, Gabriel Sargissian, Vitali Golod, Klaus Bischoff, P Harikrishna UNI XC PM DKB RAI1112