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 Dronavalli Harika is one of the young talents of the Indian chess. She participated in the Asian Championship at Hyderabad for gaining experience before the World Junior Girls Championship at Turkey which is coming up soon.
"I needed to learn 3-4 new openings and this event gave me that opportunity," said the charming girl from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. She however continues to work with her coach Rama Raju and also with her computer.
After the World Junior she will be taking a gap from chess for writing the tenth standard school final exams. She is financed by her father but is looking for sponsors.
Asked if not playing in the National Women `A' at Bangalore is costing her, she said, "I wanted to be safe and keep out of the AICF politics." Also it was not a selection year for anything and it was worth taking a drop.
She had not delivered in the World U-16 championship where she was the top seed but that does not mean she can be taken easily in the World Junior girls. Under less expectation, Harika could upset the calculations of her rivals.
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