Viswanathan Anand was still looking for his first win as he drew his fifth game in six rounds at the Chess Grand Slam Final in Bilbao, Spain.
The world champion, who defends his world title next month, drew with Vassily Ivanchuk in 32 moves and took his total to 2.5 points on the traditional points system. But in Bilbao with draws fetching one point and wins three, Anand has five.
Anand has five points to young Norwegian Magnus Carlsen's 11 points from three wins and two draws and one loss.
Ivanchuk and Anand played a Slav defence which lasted 32 moves and with neither having a chance to strike, they drew in 32 moves. For Ivanchuk it has been a tough tournament.
In Anand's case many experts aver that he is not revealing the preparations he may have made for the World title match against Vladimir Kramnik next month. Hence the low key showing so far.
Topalov, who beat Anand in fifth round, and has 10 points with two wins and four draws, follows Carlsen. Lev Aronian with two losses, is third with six points, and Anand, Teimour Radjabov and Ivanchuk have five points each.
The tournament is a six-player double round robin event, one of the strongest in the history of the game.
The scoring system in this tournament is different and players get three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for losing a game. For rating purposes the traditional 1-1/2-0 system will be used.
The prize fund for the event is 400,000 Euros, with the winner receiving 150,000 Euros, the second place 70,000 Euros with the 6th player getting 30,000 Euros. The sums are unprecedented for an event like this and only World Championships have exceeded the amount.
The Topalov-Radjabov clash was a draw by repetition in 73 moves, while Carlsen continued his great run with a solid win over Aronian in 32 moves.
Scores after Round 6: Carlsen (11 points); 2. Topalov (10 points); Aronian (6 points); Anand, Radjabov and Ivanchuk (5 points each)
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