Arjun Erigaisi, Harikrishna draw in Round 5 of FIDE World Cup

GM Arjun Erigaisi and GM P Harikrishna drew their Round 5 matches at the FIDE World Cup in Panaji. Arjun missed chances against Levon Aronian, while Harikrishna held Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara. Two Indians remain in contention

Hyderabad: GM Arjun Erigaisi’s efforts to break through GM Levon Aronian’s defence did not fructify, while GM P Harikrishna played out a quick draw in the opening game of Round 5 at the FIDE World Cup in Panaji on Friday.

Playing white, Arjun could not convert his slight advantage in the double rook endgame as the two players split points after 41 moves. Earlier, Harikrishna played a solid game with black to ensure that giant-killer GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara had no opportunities to win with white.

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A total of 24 Indian players started the competition that saw 206 players from 82 countries vying for the Viswanathan Anand Trophy. After four rounds, only two Indians remain in the fray to win the title and also grab the Candidate spots on offer.

On Friday, Arjun was keen on grabbing the advantage against two-time champion Aronian with white pieces. It looked like the Armenian-born Aronian was in trouble when he took almost 30 minutes to play his 21st move.

To his credit, he found a way to get out of trouble and then played solid chess to ensure that he goes into the second game with a theoretical advantage as he plays white.

There was no such trouble for Harikrishna, who was well prepared for Alcantara’s plan. Both players raced to a rook-pawn endgame quickly and then opted for a draw in 41 moves.

At the time of writing, six of the eight matches had ended in a draw.