World champion Viswanathan Anand was held to a draw by Georg Meier of Germany for the second time in the Grenke Chess Classic now underway here.
Desperately seeking victory with the white pieces, Anand yet again came close but could not continue the momentum to let his advantage slip. Fabano Caruana of Italy lead the field with 5.5 points.
Results (Round VIII): V Anand (Ind, 4.5) drew with Georg Meier (Ger, 3.5); Arkadij Naiditsch (Ger, 4) lt to Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 5.5); Daniel Fridman (Ger, 3) drew with Michael Adams (Eng, 3.5).