Pentala Harikrishna of India raced to his second consecutive win at the Norway Chess Tournament 2016 by outplaying the super-solid Anish Giri. Hari’s decision to opt for the French Defence in reply to Giri’s 1.e4 worked wonders as the Indian Grandmaster emerged with the more comfortable position out of the opening. The matters further worsened for Giri courtesy of his 26th move, which helped Hari secure the superior endgame. Sidestepping any possible tricks, Hari went on to convert his endgame advantage into a full point.
The other decisive game of the day was played between Pavel Eljanov and Nils Grandelius. The former scored his first victory of the tournament after Grandelius committed a huge blunder on move 35.
Meanwhile, World Champion Magnus Carlsen’s tough defence helped him escape with a draw against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. While Carlsen is currently in sole lead with 4/6, as many as 4 players – Vachier-Lagrave, Topalov, Harikrishna and Kramnik – are only half a point behind him.
Results
| Giri | 0-1 | Harikrishna |
| Vachier-Lagrave | ½-½ | Carlsen |
| Eljanov | 1-0 | Grandelius |
| Kramnik | ½-½ | Aronian |
| Li Chao | ½-½ | Topalov |