Matthias Schwab and Jordan Smith edged into a one shot lead at the top of a congested leaderboard on day three of the BMW International Open.
Home favourite Martin Kaymer had entered the round with a two shot lead but when the leader reached the turn, there were eight players within two of top spot.
Austrian Schwab was six under for his first 13 holes to sit at 11 under alongside England's Smith, who picked up four shots in his first ten.
South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout was then at ten under, one clear of Kaymer, defending champion Matt Wallace, his fellow Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick, Dane Joachim B Hansen and Italy's Andrea Pavan.
Smith knows about playing well in Germany having won the 2017 European Open, while Schwab is looking for a first European Tour win.
Bezuidenhout birdied the second from 12 feet but gave the shot straight back on the next as playing partner Kaymer saved par after finding two bunkers.
Smith joined Bezuidenhout in second as he put his tee shot to ten feet on the first and holed from the fringe on the next but Hansen was flying and soon passed them both.
Last season's European Challenge Tour Rankings winner started the day seven off the lead but he birdied the sixth and then rattled off five in a row from the eighth to fly up the leaderboard.
Smith then jumped out of the group at nine under with two putts from just off the green at the par five sixth.
Wallace had started with a bogey but he sandwiched a birdie after laying up at the sixth with beautiful approaches into the fifth and seventh and he was just two off the lead.
Schwab also found himself at nine under as he turned in 32 with birdies on the second, fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth, and a bogey on the fourth.
Bezuidenhout got on the green in two at the sixth for a birdie and that was a share of the lead as Kaymer found the penalty area, was forced to play out left-handed and could not get up and down for par.
The 25-year-old did not share the lead for long, though, as he went a long way right off the seventh tee.
Schwab then took advantage of the par five 11th to join the lead and he replaced Hansen who made a first bogey of the day on the 16th.
That could not keep pace with Smith, however, who left himself a tap-in for birdie at the par five ninth to turn in 32 and hit the front on his own.
Kaymer missed the green at the par five three eighth and when he failed to get up and down, he had gone from two ahead to two back.
Schwab holed a long putt at the 13th for a seventh birdie of the day and a share of the lead, which was briefly two shots before Bezuidenhout took advantage of the ninth.
Fitzpatrick had turned in 33 with birdies on the third, fifth and ninth and while he dropped a shot on the tenth, he birdied the par five 11th and put his tee shot to five feet at the 12th.
Pavan picked up shots on the sixth and ninth to turn in 34.
Matthieu Pavon, Callum Shinkwin, Sebastian Soderberg and Lee Westwood were eight under.
