Grand Master Harika bounces back at Reykjavik Open

India's Grand Master Harika Dronavalli recovered strongly from her loss in the previous round to score an emphatic victory over Vignir Vatnar Stefansson in the highly-competitive Reykjavik Open. The 26-year-old from Guntur, playing white, was back to her best in Round 6 as she played French defense and exploited the inexperienced opponent by slowly increasing pressure on him till he resigned. She meticulously closed the game in just 38 moves.

Playing with French defense, Harika dominated her opponent through the game. "I opted for early queen exchanges and due to inexperience my opponent made mistakes in his piece placements and I immediately exploited it by slowly increasing pressure and advantage until he resigned," she said. Agencies