Harikrishna shares Marx Gyrogy title

Defending champion P Harikrishna had to share the Marx Gyrogy Memorial International Chess title with Hungarian Peter Acs after being held to a draw by local GM Csaba Balogh in the final round in Paks, Hungary.

The Indian ended with six points out of a possible 10 after a mid-way recovery following a disastrous start. After the end of the final round Harikrishna confessed he could have done better but for the poor start.

In fact, Harikrishna was close to winning the event solely but for a final round mishap by veteran Viktor Korchnoi of Switzerland who resigned in a defendable position against Peter Acs.

The game was close to being drawn when Korchnoi suddenly failed to spot the saving grace amidst tactical complexities and called it a day. Had Acs drawn, he would have been half a point behind Harikrishna.

While Harikrishna and Acs, who defeated the Indian in the first round, dominated the event, Balogh finished sole third on 5.5 points. Another local Ferenc Berkes finished fourth on five points.

Korchnoi, after leading mid-way, slumped to fifth spot in overall rankings while Hou Yifan, though impressive in patches, finished last in the category-14 tournament.