World No. 2 Vladimir Kramnik and No. 3 Viswanathan Anand face a tough challenge to annex the Corus chess title with five players tied for the top spot after five rounds.
With eight rounds still remaining in this 14-player category-19 event, Anand, Braingames champion Kramnik of Russia, Peter Leko of Hungary, Michael Adams of England and Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria form the leading pack with three points.
Just half a point behind were local star Loek Van Wely, Vladimir Akopian of Armenia and Russian duo of Evgeny Bareev and Peter Svidler. Viktor Bologan of Moldova, Alexei Shirov of Spain, Zhang Zhong of China and Dutchmen Ivan Sokolov and Jan Timman bring up the rear on two points.
Yesterday was the second of the three rest days in the event and the mental boxing will resume later today with Anand taking on an off-form Alexei Shirov with white.
It has been good going for Anand so far, apart for the one winning move that he missed against Bologan in the fourth round. Discounting that miss, the Indian stalwart has been impeccable in his handling of the remaining games.
Leko could not do much against Anand in the first round while Akopian was mauled by him in the second game; the third was an easy draw against Van Wely, while in the fifth Svidler could not get past the 'Speedy Gonzales' despite having an extra pawn for the major part of the game.
Yet, the missed victory chance against Bologan will haunt Anand for a long time. Especially because it looked so simple in hindsight.
Also impressive was Kramnik, who has been involved in the maximum number of decisive games apart from his first round loss to Akopian. After the disastrous start, the Russian has proved that he can be menacing when pushed to the wall. Facing Kramnik's music were Van Wely, in round two, and Svidler, in round four, both of whom were mauled by a whirlwind of technical chess
Though Svidler resigned in a drawn position, the decision can easily be attributed to tremendous pressure that he had to undergo in the early part of the game.
Topalov has been clinical in his approach. Starting out with three draws, the Bulgarian scored a fine victory over Akopian in round five to join the leaders and followed it up with another draw as black against Van Wely.
Knowing his guile to upstage the best in business, Topalov will be a matter of concern for the higher rated players.
Leko and Adams also have been brilliant and are expected to continue in the same vein.
Standings after Round 5: 1-5 - Veselin Topalov (Bul), V Anand, Peter Leko (Hun), Vladimir Kramnik (Rus), Michael Adams (Eng) 3 each; 6-9 - Loek Van Wely (Ned), Peter Svidler (Rus),
Vladimir Akopian (Arm), Evgeny Bareev (Rus) 2.5 each; 10-14 - Ivan Sokolov (Ned), Viktor Bologan (Mda), Alexei Shirov (Esp), Zhang Zhong (Chn), Jan Timman (Ned) 2 each.
Pairings Round 6: Adams v Bareev; Kramnik v Zhong; Anand v Shirov; Timman v Svidler; Topalov v Bologan; Sokolov v Van Wely; Leko v Akopian.