The fifth round of the Miguel Najdorf Memorial didn't clarify the situation in the leading group, but it hinted that perhaps some of the top players will not win the tournament. Among them probably are GM Sergei Zhigalko and Jon Ludvig Hammer.

In the fifth day of the tournament we witnessed a clash between two leaders. Julian Radulski had an edge against Aleksander Mista but he didn't manage to convert it into a full point. Thanks to this draw, GM Mikhail Brodsky was able to catch them with and easy win against FM Tomek Rej. The young Australian player didn't play this game very well and had to resign on 18th move.

Once again Zhigalko and Hammer disappointed their supporters. Sergei made a quick draw against Lukas Cernousek, and Hammer, after a very interesting game, lost to GM Monika Socko. The best Polish woman is battling against the top opponents since the third round. Earlier, GM Dziuba and GM Olszewski put up a strong resistance and were able to make draw against Socko. In the 5th round she's finally beaten a top Grandmaster. Thank to this victory she is only half point behind the leading group - together with five other players (among them Malakhatko and Erdos). We hope that it's not Monika's last word.

Tomorrow on the first board Aleksander Mista plays against Mikhail Brodsky. Let's hope it'll be an interesting game.

Report by IM Stanislaw Zawadzki. More information on the official website.