Wijk aan Zee (The Netherlands) : Indian grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna maintained his eighth position after he played a thrilling draw against Hungarian Richard Rapport in the penultimate round of the Tata Steel Chess tournament.

The World No.11 secured a crucial half point here on Saturday to accumulate a total of six points with just one more round to play.

Harikrishna, starting in white pieces, made a mistake in the opening and had to defend with a pawn down. Rapport did make mistake in the course of the game but the Indian could not make use of the chance and eventually had to be content with a draw.

"I blundered on move nine and had to defend for long. But Rapport gave me a chance later on, which I did not utilise and had to settle for a draw eventually," Harikrishna said after the match.

The Indian star, with a rating of 2770, has won one, drawn 10 and lost one game in the campaign so far.

Harikrishna will now take on the Dutch grandmaster Loek Van Wely in the final round.-Agency