Harikrishna finishes second in Sharjah online chess

Chennai, June 15

Indian Grandmaster P Harikrishna finished second in the Sharjah online chess championship with a score of 6.5 points after losing the final round to Polish GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek.

Former World Rapid champion Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan, the top seed, emerged winner with 7.5 points from 10 rounds and remained unbeaten in the double round-robin tourney.

Mamedyarov won $3,000 while the second-seed Harikrishna received $2,250.

Polish GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek secured the third position with six points.

There were some interesting games on the second day with host player Salem Saleh missing a chance to win the final round against Mamedyarov.

Harikrishna lost to Mamedyarov in round two.

The top two seeds faced off in the eighth round which ended in a draw. That game helped the Indian stay in hunt. He beat Saleh in the ninth round.

Harikrishna, however, lost his final round to Wojtaszek, while Shakhriyar survived anxious moments before overcoming Saleh.

In Round 6, Harikrishna was up against Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan. He made the most out of white pieces and won convincingly. — PTI