Markus Berg fired Hamburg in front after 27 minutes when he converted a cross from Dutch midfielder Eljero Elia.

Skipper Piotr Trochowski doubled the lead just before the break, thanks to a powerful long-range free-kick.

Kuranyi narrowed the gap five minutes after the restart with a neat header to revive the hopes of Schalke, who were further boosted when Hamburg's David Rozehnal received a red card for a last-man foul on Kuranyi.

Midfielder Lukas Schmitz headed home the ensuing free-kick to restore parity.

Hamburg looked to have claimed all three points when Berg scored his second of the night on 80 minutes after being set-up by Brazilian veteran midfielder Ze Roberto.

However, Kuranyi denied them top spot when he headed home with one minute remaining.

Hamburg are level on 22 points with league leaders Bayer Leverkusen but lie second due to inferior goal difference.