Dortmund Round 5
Lowest ranked player leads at Dormund!
A short tournament like Dortmund can throw up surprises, as it has done in previous years, and after round 5 the sole leader of the 2008 event is Jan Gustafsson (pictured), Elo 2603 from Germany.
Before the tournament I had never heard of Gustafsson, but if he can hang on to his slender lead for the remaining rounds he will certainly make a name for himself.
Gustafsson took the lead by half a point by winning for a second time - his victim today being the Dutchman Loek Van Wely in an embarrassingly brief 18 moves! Up to move 13 appears to be theory, but after 14. Be2 White just loses another pawn to go three pawns down and Loek resigned soon after.
Loek gets invites to many of the top tournaments but often seems to struggle with the competition at this exalted level.
Chucky finally woke up to record his first win of the event against Kramnik's round 4 nemesis, Arkadij Naiditsch. In a QGD, Ivanchuk saddled his opponent with doubled, isolated a-pawns and his superior knight won the day in the ending.
The results in round 5:
| Leko, Peter | - Nepomniachtchi, Ian | ½-½ | 30 | B52 | Sicilian Rossolimo |
| Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | - Kramnik, Vladimir | ½-½ | 40 | E15 | Queens Indian |
| Ivanchuk, Vassily | - Naiditsch, Arkadij | 1-0 | 53 | D37 | QGD 5.Bf4 |
| Van Wely, Loek | - Gustafsson, Jan | 0-1 | 18 | D31 | Semi-Slav Defence |
The standings after round 5:
| 1 | Gustafsson, Jan | GER | 2603 | * | . | . | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 3½ |
| 2 | Leko, Peter | HUN | 2741 | . | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | . | ½ | 3 |
| 3 | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | RUS | 2634 | . | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | . | ½ | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | AZE | 2752 | ½ | ½ | ½ | * | . | ½ | ½ | . | 2½ |
| 5 | Ivanchuk, Vassily | UKR | 2740 | ½ | 0 | ½ | . | * | . | 1 | ½ | 2½ |
| 6 | Kramnik, Vladimir | RUS | 2788 | ½ | ½ | . | ½ | . | * | 0 | 1 | 2½ |
| 7 | Naiditsch, Arkadij | GER | 2624 | 0 | . | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | * | . | 2 |
| 8 | Van Wely, Loek | NED | 2677 | 0 | ½ | 0 | . | ½ | 0 | . | * | 1 |
