Biel (Switzerland), July 26 : Indian Grand Master Pentala Harikrishna staved off a staunch challenge to hold Swiss Grand Master Nico Georgiadis to a draw in the second round of the Biel chess festival here.
The World No.20 Indian, playing with white pieces, committed a mistake early on in the clash on Tuesday and had to be at his defensive best throughout to eke out half-a-point from the game.
"I made a mistake in the opening stages and got into a bad position... from there on it was an uphill task to defend and save the game," the 31-year old from Guntur conceded.
After two rounds in the classic time control tournament, Harikrishna has one point and sits joint second in the standings.
He will take on Russian Grand Master Alexander Morozevich in his third-round encounter on Wednesday.
