Anand draws with Svidler, joins Kamsky on top in Mtel Masters

Sofia, Bulgaria, May 16 (UNI) Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand split points with Russian Peter Svidler to move into the joint lead with American Gata Kamsky, who suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of World Champion Veselin Topalov in the fifth round of the Mtel Masters here.

Playing with black, World Rapid Chess Champion Anand was unusually cautious as the Russian was making meticulous moves.

Both the players did not give any chance to the opponent for an attack. After 38 moves, both the players agreed for a draw.

''By and large it was a good first half. Getting 3.5 points from five games is quite impressive. I feel the tournament will become more tougher after the much needed rest day,'' Anand told UNI after his drawn game yesterday.

Anand will take on Etienne Bacrot in the next round tomorrow and the Indian will have the advantage of playing with white against the Frenchman whom he defeated in the first round with black pieces.

But it was the reigning world champion Topalov who stole the show, displaying a fine attacking game to beat Kamsky in 40 moves to snap the American's dream run in the tournament.

Playing with white pieces, the Bulgarian came up with a trademark powerful exchange sacrifice and attacked relentlessly from the 30th move onwards. In the end, his American opponent had no answer but to surrender to the onslaught.

Topalov thus recorded his third straight win against Kamsky -- the last one at Corus in January preceded by the match at Dos Hermanas in 1996.

In the other game of the day, Ruslan Ponomariov and Bacrot settled for a draw after 47 moves.

Svidler and Topalov are still in contention with even scores and the latter is a notoriously strong closer. Last year too, he was trailing initially before rallying from behind to score 4.5/5 to take the first place.

Ponomariov and Bacrot are out of the medal hunt but would like to taste a win when they resume action tomorrow after a rest day.

Standings after round 5: 1. Gata Kamsky, USA (3.5), Viswanathan Anand, IND (3.5); 3. Peter Svidler, RUS (2.5), Veselin Topalov, BUL (2.5); 5. Ruslan Ponomariov, UKR (1.5), Etienne Bacrot, FRA (1.5) Round 6 Pairing: Veselin Topalov VS Peter Svidler; Gata Kamsky VS Ruslan Ponomariov; Viswanathan Anand VS Etienne Bacrot.

UNI XC PDS DH HS1655