Grand master Vesselin Topalov of Bulgaria has taken the lead in the interim ranking of M-Tel Masters tournament after beating Michael Adams of UK at the 54th move with the black figures on Thursday.

With a basket of 4 points and two victories, Topalov shoulders Ruslan Ponomaryov (Ukraine), followed by Viswanathan Anand and Judit Polgar with 3.5 points each, and then Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) and Michael Adams holding 3 points each.

The first-ever Category-20 M-Tel Masters chess tournament in Bulgaria is attracting a lot of attention with the world's top six stars playing - barring Garry Kasparov who announced his retirement in March.

Adding to the highly charged atmosphere is the rule "no agreed draws" whereby players cannot offer their rivals draws or speak to them directly.

Apart from hefty prizes from the fund of EUR 300,000, the winner of the M-Tel Masters will get a copy of the famous painting "Entering Jerusalem" from the Nessebar School by famous Bulgarian icon painter Katya Bazhlekova.

The icon is painted on wood with a 23-carat gold cover. The 62 x 45 centimeters painting will be presented to the winner at the closing ceremony on Sunday.

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