Lausanne: Former world junior champion P. Harikrishna drew with Grandmaster Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan in the first game for the third place fight in the Lausanne Young Masters International Chess Tournament here.

At the top, seeded Grandmaster Andrei Volokitin of Ukraine defeated second seed United States champion Hikaru Nakamura to go one up in the two-game mini-match. In the return game now, Volokitin has a relatively easier task as he just needs a draw to win this prestigious event in which top young stars of the world are taking part.

Harikrishna, who lost to Volokitin in the semi-finals, had no troubles whatsoever after Mamedyarov decided to test his opening knowledge instead of going for a full-fledged battle.

Volokitin was simply brilliant in his effort against Nakamura who played the black side of a French Defence. Going in for a side variation, Nakamura couldn’t maintain the balance for long as Volokitin unleashed an excellent combination leading to a pawn plus endgame after a piece sacrifice.

The American tried hard to salvage a half point but the relentless Ukrainian increased his advantage consistently to romp home in 80 moves.

Meanwhile, in the fight for 5th place, Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen of Norway accounted for Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France fairly easily to get a full point lead ahead of the second game.