Indian Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna staved off a staunch challenge to hold local Grandmaster Nico Georgiadis to a draw in the second round of the Biel Chess Festival, here.
The World No. 20 Indian, playing with white pieces, committed mistake early on in the clash and had to be at his defensive best throughout, to eke out half point from the game last night.
“I made a mistake in the opening stages and got into a bad position. From there on it was an uphill task to defend and save the game,” the 31-year old from Guntur said.
After two rounds in the classic time control tournament, Harikrishna has a point and sits joint second in the standings.
He will take on Russian Grandmaster Alexander Morozevich in his third-round encounter tonight.