Candidates Tournament Round 5

Round five was another day of great fighting chess at the 2013 Candidates Tournament in London, but for the first time since the opening round there were no decisive games.  It certainly wasn't for the lack of trying!

Peter Svidler continues to impress with his opening preparation for this competition. This time he had white against Boris Gelfand and revealed a remarkable novelty with 7.f4!? to the amazement of fans, commentators and his opponent!  Svidler gained the upper hand and it looked like Gelfand might be wiped off the board in short order.  However, the position was still very complicated and after 23.e6? the advantage slipped away leaving Svidler scrambling for a draw.  A missed opportunity for Peter Svidler!

Peter Svidler gets an A+ for his homework so far...

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...catching another opponent by surprise!

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The next game to finish was the game between Vassily Ivanchuk and Magnus Carlsen.  Tournament co-leader Carlsen was clearly determined to provoke a complicated game, but Ivanchuk kept his cool and the advantage, despite time pressure.  It was Carlsen who found himself under pressure in the endgame this time, but he was up to the task and secured a draw.

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Ivanchuk's body language is almost as entertaining as his play

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The game between Alexander Grischuk and Teimour Radjabov was probably the least interesting of the day. The position became blocked by pawn chains and neither player could make progress until a late flurry of action when Radjabov sacrificed his bishop for connected passed pawns.

Trench warfare from Grischuk and Radjabov

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The longest game of the day was the eagerly anticipated clash between Vladimir Kramnik and co-leader Lev Aronian.  A quiet opening sprung to life when Aronian grabbed a juicy pawn with 20...Qxa2, but Kramnik achieved good compensation following 21.f5.  Kramnik's bishop pair proved highly effective and after he regained his pawn with interest it looked like he would be rewarded with a first win of the tournament.  However, Lev Aronian had other ideas and his stubborn defence and Kramnik's time trouble was enough to earn a hard-fought draw.

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Kramnik blew winning chances against Aronian

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The standings after five rounds

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The 2013 Candidates Tournament runs from 14 March - 2 April in London, with the winner earning the right to challenge current world champion Vishy Anand for the title.

The tournament is an 8-player double round-robin event and the venue is The IET at 2 Savoy Place on the banks of the river Thames. The total prize fund is €510,000 (approx 665,000 USD). 

All rounds start at 14:00 GMT, and the time control is 2 hours for 40 moves, then an extra hour added for the next 20 moves, then 15 minutes more with a 30 second increment to finish.

The official FIDE website coverage is at london2013.fide.com.