Playing the fifth round with white pieces in Taimanov variation of Sicilian defence, Akash controlled the game from the outset and garnered full points against his rival after 45 moves and took his tally to five points.
Orissa's Debashis outwitted overnight joint leader Saptarshi Roy of Railways to maintain his perfect score in 58 moves.
Four players -- CRG Krishna (Andhra Pradesh), B T Murali Krishna (Railways), Diptayan Ghosh (West Bengal) and Sohan Phadke (Maharashtra) -- share the second spot with 4.5 points after the fifth round.
