Adams, van Wely lead World Open

Despite a disappointing turnout in this year’s World Open , excitement has not abated in the annual festival. Michael Adams has attended this tournament the past couple of years and seems to have found a hospitable climate. Currently Adams shares the lead with Loek van Wely of the Netherlands. After beating Jaan Ehlvest and Gata Kamsky respectively, the two shook hands in this shortened bout.

Gata Kamsky rebounded from his loss to van Wely with this technical win over Leonid Yudasin.

Thus, there is a joint tie for first and an eight-way tie for second with 4/5. Pentala Harikrishna of India has been playing regularly in the U.S., but in this tournament he has had a rough do with three consecutive draws. He is apparently the lone ranger from India as many of the usual participants are playing in the Commonwealth Championship in South Africa.

Round six begins today at 11am EST. Follow the games on monroi.com and worldopen.com.