Kanty-Mansiysk (Russia), Nov 22 (IANS): India's Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli earned a hard-fought draw in the third round of the elite women's Grand Prix here on Monday to keep her chances alive for a top-five finish.
Playing aggressively right from the start, she pushed her lower-ranked opponent Russian Natalia Pogonina into trouble. But Pogonina managed to save the game and share points, according to a release.
Harika has just one point after three rounds and is joint eighth in the standings. She has been in tremendous form this year, having won the Chengdu Grand Prix in July and taking the best woman player trophy in the Eurasian Blitz Tournament in Kazakhstan.
Harika goes head-to-head with Ukrainian Zhukova Natalia in the next round and will fancy her chances against the player lower rated than her.