Harikrishna wins opening round in World Youth Chess Olympiad

Grandmaster P Harikrishna beat W Spenger of Australia in the opening round of the U-18 boys' category as most of the Indian players got off to a good start in the World Youth Chess Olympiad at Hereklion in Greece.

Of the 28 Indians in various categories, 21 registered victories, three suffered reversals while four settled for draws at the prestigious tournament, which began on Thursday.

The 16-year-old Harikrishna put aside the jetlag and exhaustion of a long journey and beat Spenger with white pieces in a game that featured the Semi Slav defence.

Harikrishna is seeded fifth with an Elo rating of 2551 points. Bu Xiangzhi, once the youngest Grandmaster in the World, is the top seed.

In the U-10 section for boys, Asian champion Parimarjan Negi was held to a draw by Dan Mars Ulu of Kyrgyzstan. Playing black, Negi adopted the Sicilian Paulsen and outplayed his opponent in all departments of the game. However, after winning a pawn, Negi fumbled and overlooked a tactical sequence of moves that cost him his queen for two pieces.

Asian junior champion Tania Sachdev began her campaign in the Girls U-16 section crushing Tamara Bozarv of Mexico with white pieces. In the U-12 girls, Dronavali Harika got off to a winning start beating Michaela Mayor of Australia.