Indian Grandmaster Dronavalli Harika ended the stubborn resistance of Bangladesh’s Shamima Akter Liza in the tiebreak games on Tuesday in Tehran to enter the round of 32 of the World Chess Championship. The 26-year-old won 1.5-0.5 in the tiebreak after the first two rounds ended in draws, PTI reported.
Harika struggled to win in normal time against Liza, ranked much below the fourth-placed Indian, who bounced back well in the rapid encounter, winning both the games with ease.
In the first game, Liza was forced to resign when Harika’s rooks invaded the seventh rank with the latter playing on the white side. In the second rapid game, Harika was on a sticky wicket in defence but managed to force a draw with the players arriving at a queens and pawns endgame.
Padmini Rout, the other Indian at the event, had stunned Armenia’s Elina Danielian to progress into the round of 32 on Monday.