World Cup champion Viswanathan Anand crushed veteran Ljubomir Ljubojevic of Yugoslavia 2-0 in the fifth round and stormed into sole lead in the 12th Amber blindfold and rapid chess tournament now underway here. Anand took his tally to seven points from 10 games played so far and was in his element in outclassing Ljubojevic in the rapid game after weathering a lean patch in the blindfold. Overnight leader Peter Leko of Hungary and Russian duo of Braingames champion Vladimir Kramnik and defending champion Alexander Morozevich are a half point adrift of Anand while a distant fifth at nearly the halfway stage is Israeli Boris Gelfand on 5.5 points. Anand also maintained his joint lead with Morozevich in the rapid section and also improved his blindfold standings by moving to joint fourth place alongside Dutch Grandmaster Loek van Wely. Kramnik continued to lead the blindfold with another fine victory over compatriot Evgeny Bareev. Gelfand and Leko jointly share the second place in this section on 3.5.
