Playing white, Mammadyarov was surprised by Nisipeanu's choice of Blumenfeld Gambit and for once his early attacking bid did not materialise as Nisipeanu continued with his counter play in effective fashion. In the end, Mammadyarov had to force a 22-move draw in the shortest game of the tournament so far.

In the other games of the round, former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria caught India's Krishnan Sasikiran on the wrong foot and handed the Indian Grandmaster his first defeat of the tournament.

Michael Adams, after his draw with American Gata Kamsky, is the sole second with 2.5 points, followed by the Sasikiran-Nisipeanu duo. Topalov is next in line a half point adrift, while Kamsky, with just one point, is at the bottom of the table. PTI

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