Viswanathan Anand of India won his first-round game against Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and is now the sole leader. The game was quite complicated, with Topalov sacrificing a pawn for an attack. But, at a critical moment, his missed his opportunity to deliver what was probably a killing blow.

After that, Anand consolidated and soon infiltrated Topalov’s position with his rooks. In the end, caught in a mating net, Topalov had to give up material to avoid immediae loss, so he resigned.

Eight of the world's top grandmasters come to Moscow to play in the tournament that will be contested as a double round-robin over 14 games. The winner will play a match for the title against reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen next November in the US.