3rd Sinquefield Cup - Round 5 recap

Opening: B90, C65: Sicilian: Najdorf, Byrne (English) attack - Ruy Lopez: Berlin defense

Player(s): Carlsen, So, Caruana, Topalov

GM Lars Bo Hansen recaps Round 5. Caruana bounces back after a terrible start, and who does he beat? Yes indeed, the co-leader Veselin Topalov! Fabiano played well, winning in a convincing way. Now he's not in the last place anymore, though 2 points out of 5 rounds are not what can be called a good result. Magnus Carlsen played a fantastic game against the combative and indomitable Welsey So. Apparently Magnus missed an early win, but then he played all the best moves - as it is in his style - in a perfect endgame, taking advantage of So's weakness on the King's side, and putting to work a monster passed "h" pawn. The two young foes battled for nearly six hours, and Magnus decided to go for the win when Wesley had mate in one on the board. It was arguably the most exciting game of the tournament so far. Now the standings see Carlsen leading together with Aronian, with 3.5/5, followed by Topalov and Giri with 3. Nakamura and MVL with 2.4, Caruana and Grischuk with 2 and Anand still shares last place, now with So, at 1.5. Tomorrow is the only rest day of the tournament, and we will most likely be forced to watch and comment on soccer games. It's the sad life of chess fans, these days! The tournament resumes on Saturday, with the two co-leaders clashing - Aronian will play white - in a quite decisive game.