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Harika chalks up first win in China

Harika Dronavlli extended her good run of form by registering a win at the Chinese A Division Chess League in Jiaxing on Sunday.

Harika Dronavlli extended her good run of form by registering a win at the Chinese A Division Chess League in Jiaxing on Sunday.

Playing for Team Shandong, Harika outwitted Ni Shiqun of Team Tianjing to put her side in a strong position after Day Two.

The Indian Grandmaster comfortably drew her opening game against Qi Guo of Team Jiangsu.

“I started today with black and immediately guided the game to a complicated position. My opponent made a few mistakes and I pounced on them to extract a victory in 26 moves. I am very happy with the way I played,” she said, shortly after completing the win.

India’s other Grandmaster in the fray, P. Harikrishna, also won against Zen Chongsheng of Team Guangdong. Harikrishna is representing Team Shanghai.

The CCL is an annual elite tournament, comprising 12 teams. All of China’s top players and a number of foreign players have assembled in Jiaxing for this event.

The entire league is played from April to December, lasting 22 rounds. The current leg will culminate on Tuesday. Each match is played over five boards, with women playing on two of them.

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