Beijing Rd5: Three wins, Grischuk now clear second

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.

The third Mengxi Cup Go Tournament is being held adjacent to the Grand Prix

The photogenic deputy arbiter making sure the clocks are set right

Grischuk, Alexander - Shakhriyar, Mamedyarov 1-0
In a typical reverse dragon, White was able to obtain strong pressure on the queenside while Black had some space advantage but was unable to do much with it. Mamedyarov's mistake came when he traded on e4 too quickly, after which White's pressure on the queenside following the thematic sacrifice on c6 was too much for him to handle.

Grischuk: "I have a hard time playing Shakhriyar. My daughter is in love with him, she says she roots for me but I can see in her eyes it is not true".

Once again our express analysis comes from GM Alexander Ipatov from Turkey, 
a bungy-jumping adventurer whom you can follow his blog at http://blog.alexipatov.com/.

Kamsky, Gata - Giri, Anish 0-1
Kamsky played one of his non main line Sicilians, this time a Rossolimo, to obtain a playable and interesting position. The truly strange decision came when he sacrificed (blundered?) the e4 pawn after which Black not only had an extra pawn but he also obtained central control. Giri played a good game and didn't forgive his opponents mistakes.

A little friendly chat before the round between Mamedayarov (left), Leko (right), and Topalov (center) who we recognize by his... coat

Topalov did not approve much of Kamsky's decisions this game

Leko, Peter - Morozevich, Alexander ½-½
Another unusual Sicilian but in this case White obtained next to nothing from the opening as the position quickly locked up and neither side could make any significant progress. The players agreed on a draw in a position in which it was hard to simply come up with a significant plan.

Wang Hao - Topalov, Veselin ½-½
Wang Hao sacrificed a pawn to obtain the pair of bishops and significant pressure on Black's queenside as well as weakening the kingside. However Topalov's defense was unbreakable and although White was able to regain his pawn back, he was unable to sustain his positional advantages and the endgame was eventually drawn.

Ivanchuk, Vassily - Wang Yue 1-0
In a highly unusual game Ivanchuk daringly sacrificed a pawn and then put his king in an awkward position in order to trap his opponent's bishop in the middle of the board! The e5 bishop was Ivanchuk's target, but Wang Yue obtained compensation in the form of two pawns and an attack on that king that was stuck in the center of the board. The tense struggle turned awry after 29...Rfd8?! as he should have immediately forced a draw with 29...Nf3! and 30...Nxh2!, allowing his knight to join the fray and create perpetual check opportunities.

Gelfand, Boris - Karjakin, Sergey ½-½
Karjakin was successfully able to diffuse Gelfand's d4. Despite this the Israeli was able to obtain some positional initiative and created weaknesses in his opponent's camp. Karjakin cleverly closed down the center so that, despite having two weaknesses, they weren't able to be attacked simultaneously. For this reason he created a fortress that Gelfand was unable to breach.

The spectators were quite interested in Grischuk's positional play...

...but one of them was considerably stronger than the others

A fan asks today's special guest, GM Hou Yifan, for her autograph

Information and pictures by FIDE press chief WGM Anastasiya Karlovich

Replay the games of this round

Click on the dropdown menu above the board to change games.

Current standings

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.

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.