WIJK AA ZEE, JANUARY 28: VISWANATHAN Anand was unable to get the win he so desperately wanted to keep his chances alive, as he was held to a draw by Sergei Tiviakov in the in the 12th and penultimate round of the Corus chess tournament at Wijk ann Zee. The game lasted 27 moves.

The NIIT-sponsored Anand now has with seven points and shares the fourth to sixth place alongside Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Svidler. Kramnik drew with leader Veselin Topalov in 49 moves in what had been labeled as `grudge battle' after their controversial match recently.

Teimour Radjabov meanwhile joined Topalov at the top with eight points after beating Alexander Motylev in 40 moves.

Svidler, who had stunned Topalov earlier in the event to throw open the tournament failed to capitalize on that as he lost to local Dutchman Loek van Wely in just 22 moves.

With Radjabov and Topalov on eight points, Anand now has no hope of joining them at the top as he is a full point behind them and the two leaders meet in the 13th and final round, which effectively becomes the title match, too.

In group C, Parimarjan Negi drew his 11th rounds with Zhao Peng and in 12th round, he had a promising position against leader Ian Nepomniatchi, but he managed only a draw. He has 6.5 points and the leader is Nepomniatchi at 10 points. Michae Krasenkow is second with 9.5 and Emmanual Berg third with eight.

In Group `C', Parimarjan Negi failed to make the most of a promising position and went on to hold Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi in 55 moves.

Topalov was on the offensive in a queenless middlegame, that stemmed from a 5.Bf4 queen’s gambit. Kramnik defended stubbornly and by move 49 there was no material left on the board, and the two competitors agreed to share the point. The two did not shake hands as is customary before a match.

Lev Aronian, who is the only one with a chance to catch the leaders came close to winning against Shirov. But Shirov had a narrow escape as Aronian lost his way in a winning position. That win would have put Aronian in a tie for top position.

Now Aronian meets Tiviakov in final round and Radjabov and Topalov meet in final round. Anand meets Navarra with white pieces in last round.

Pairings for Round 13: Ponomariov v Motylev; Anand v Navara; Aronian v Tiviakov; Carlsen v Shirov; Svidler v Karjakin; Kramnik v van Wely; Radjabov v Topalov

Results of Round 12: Topalov drew with Kramnik; Navara beat Ponomariov; Karjakin drew with Carlsen; Tiviakov drew Anand; Van Wely beat Svidler; Motylev lost to Radjabov; Shirov drew with Aronian

Standings after Round 12: 1. Topalov and Radjabov 8.0; 3. Aronian 7.5; 4. Kramnik, Svidler and Anand 7.0; 7. Navara 6.0; 8. Ponomariov and Karjakin 5.5; 10. Tiviakov and Van Wely 5.0; 12. Motylev 4.5; 13. Carlsen and Shirov 4.0.