Anand in lead

Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand maintained a slender half point lead after a draw with GM Michal Krasenkow of Poland in the ninth round of the Corus Chess tournament now underway here.

After a few exciting previous rounds, most of the players preferred an extended rest day ahead of the final one scheduled for Thursday. Six out of seven games ended in draws leaving anand 6 points half a point ahead of nearest rivals GM Loek Van Wely and Judit Polgar.

The lone big beneficiary of this round was defending champion Evgeny Bareev who scored over compatriot Alexander Grischuk in an exciting game.