Beijing R02: Karjakin wins, leads.

The fifth stage of the FIDE Grand Prix Series is taking place between the 3rd and 17th of July 2013 on the premises of the Chinese Chess Association in Beijing. The time controls are 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves and 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move from move 61 onwards. The games start at 3 p.m. local time, except the last round. The Grand Prix Series consists of six tournaments to be held over two years (2012-2013). 18 top players participate in four of these six tournaments. The winner and second placed player overall of the Grand Prix Series will qualify for the Candidates Tournament to be held in March 2014.

Showing good form Karjakin is now 2-0.

Karjakin, Sergey - Wang Hao 1-0
An unusual guest in top level practice, the Austrian attack of the Pirc gave White a clear advantage from the opening. His superior development allowed him to blast open the kingside. Black had to go for the counterattack on the opposite flank, where Karjakin's king was, but through some solid combination of defense and attack and clever tactics Karjakin took an important full point and the lead.

Analysis on this fabulous game by Karjakin by grandmaster Ipatov:

Topalov, Veseiln - Leko, Peter ½-½
Topalov sacrificed a pawn early in this Queen's Indian defense to obtain powerful development and tactical chances against both Black's pieces and his somewhat exposed kingside. However Leko showed he is still a master of defense and after the very cunning 20...f6! he was able to stabilize his position, though at the cost of his extra pawn. The rook endgame was a very obvious draw.

Ivanchuk preferred the knights over the bishops in a closed position, but it was insufficient for an advantage.

Grischuk, Alexander - Ivanchuk, Vassily ½-½
A fight between Black's two knights against White's pair of bishops in a closed position didn't favor either side in this hedgehog. The position was too locked for the bishops to do anything while the knights didn't have the solid outposts they wanted. In the end Ivanchuk forced a strange perpetual on White's queen and the draw was agreed.

Wang Yue - Gelfand, Boris ½-½
Gelfand easily neutralized Wang Yue with the Gruenfeld and the players repeated moves very early in the game.

Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Kamsky, Gata ½-½
Kamsky's a6 Slav remains solid as Mamedyarov was unable to find a way to an advantage. After the simplification of the center White held no meaningful advantage and the game ended with Kamsky giving a perpetual on White's exposed king.

Kamsky got the dress code right. Almost.

Giri, Anish - Morozevich, Alexander ½-½
The game, as usual for Morozevich, was a strange French. This time again the Russian was able to obtain a fine position despite his unorthodox handling, and Giri decided best to force a repetition early on.

Giri started with two whites, but only half a point.

Information and pictures by FIDE press chief WGM Anastasiya Karlovich

Schedule and pairings

The games start at 9:00h European time, 11:00h Moscow, 3 a.m. New York. You can find your regional starting time here. The commentary on Playchess begins one hour after the start of the games and is free for premium members. Time listed is the local round time in Beijing.

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.