Grandmaster Dronavalli Harika kept herself in contention by winning against Sopiko Guramishvili of Georgia in the first round's first tie-break but Padmini Rout's campaign ended after a loss in the Women's World Chess Championship here Monday. Harika won 2.5-1.5 and Rout went down to Zhansaya Abdumalik of Kazakhastan by a similar margin. With Koneru Humpy already in the second round of the 64-player knockout event, all eyes were on Harika and she did not disappoint despite being held to a draw in the first round of the rapid tie-breaker.

Viswanathan Anand once famously said that "it's easier to draw with white when you don't want to". The golden words struck chord once more as Khukashvili paid the prize of playing for a level position with the slightly favourable colour. It was a Petroff defense by Harika in which the queens got traded very early in the opening and in her bid to exchange everything, Khukashvili surrendered the Bishop pair in the ensuing endgame.