Indian Grand Master Harika Dronavalli settled for an enthralling draw against Swedish Grand Master Nils Grandelius in the second round of the TePe Sigeman and Co. Chess tournament here.
The World No.10 Indian, playing with black pieces, fought back with all her grit after her Swedish counterpart chose an unexpected line of play.
"My opponent surprised me by choosing a line which he never played and I was out of book by move five. But, he slipped by playing some inaccurate moves which gave me a slightly better position with double bishops," Harika said after the match.
With the clock ticking by, Harika gave away the advantage, but capitalised on Nils' blunder in the dying moments of the game to salvage a draw.
"I got less time in 40 moves time control and the position got equalized. But white made a huge mistake which gave me a clear winning position, but due to severe time trouble I couldn't make use of it and the game ended in a draw," Harika said.
With two draws in her two games, the Indian retained her fifth position on the standings with one point. She remains level on points with three other GMs as Georgian GM Baadur Jobava sits at pole position with one and a half points.
Harika will take on Erik Blomqvist, another local favourite in her round three game at the Hipp Theater.
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