Mainz: Staging a stunning comeback, former world junior champion P. Harikrishna won four games in a row to win the Clerics Medical Chess960 junior chess title, defeating local favourite Arkadij Naidtisch in a nail-biting finale here.

Having lost three of his first four games on the first day to trail by 0.5-3.5 margin in the 8-game tie, Harikrishna was under tremendous pressure, but kept his cool on the final day to win all four games and eventually won by a 4.5-3.5 margin.

The real pressure for the Indian came in the final game after he successfully defeated Naiditsch to equal the score.

The Hyderabad-based player was pushed to the wall while Naiditsch failed to keep track of the ticking clock and was declared lost on time.

“The last game of the day was very bad. I still don’t know how I won that one!,” Harikrishna said after winning his first title in Mainz.

In the women’s event, Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia proved superior to her German counterpart Elizabeth Paehtz and won with a convincing 5.5-2.5 margin. (PTI)