In today's games Vladimir Kramnik obtained the bishop pair but the symmetrical structure and Black's solid position didn't give him any real pressure. A mini-combination just led to simplification and opposite bishops.
Alexei Shirov played one of his favourite systems in the Spanish against Magnus Carlsen. Black seemed active at first but not enough to challenge White's central bind. The World No.1 managed to organize a kingside attack with his bishop pair and eventually won Black's queen for rook and knight. White's kingside pawns supported by the queen were too much for Black's defences.
Round 5:
| Name | Rating | Country | Result | Name | Rating | Country | Opening | Moves |
| Magnus Carlsen | 2826 | NOR | 1-0 | Alexei Shirov | 2749 | ESP | Spanish Neo-Archangel | 65 |
| Vladimir Kramnik | 2780 | RUS | 0.5-0.5 | Viswanathan Anand | 2800 | IND | Queen's Gambit Vienna | 37 |
The overall standings are as follows:
| Standing | Player (World ranking) | Rating | Age | Country | 1W | 1B | 2W | 2B | 3W | 3B | 4W | 4B | Score (Bilbao) | Score (Standard) |
| 1 | Vladimir Kramnik (5) | 2780 | 35 | RUS | X | X | = | = | 1 | = | 1 | - | 9 | 3.5 |
| 2 | Viswanathan Anand (3) | 2800 | 40 | IND | = | = | X | X | - | 1 | = | = | 7 | 3 |
| 3 | Magnus Carlsen (1) | 2826 | 19 | NOR | = | 0 | 0 | - | X | X | 1 | = | 5 | 2 |
| 4 | Alexei Shirov (12) | 2749 | 38 | ESP | - | 0 | = | = | = | 0 | X | X | 3 | 1.5 |
Anand has White against Carlsen, whereas Shirov, seeking his first win, has the white pieces against Kramnik.
As a reminder, here is a summary of the earlier rounds:
Round 1:
| Name | Rating | Country | Result | Name | Rating | Country | Opening | Moves |
| Alexei Shirov | 2749 | ESP | 0.5-0.5 | Viswanathan Anand | 2800 | IND | Spanish Berlin | 41 |
| Vladimir Kramnik | 2780 | RUS | 1-0 | Magnus Carlsen | 2826 | NOR | Queen's Indian Defence | 45 |
Round 2:
| Name | Rating | Country | Result | Name | Rating | Country | Opening | Moves |
| Magnus Carlsen | 2826 | NOR | 0-1 | Viswanathan Anand | 2800 | IND | Spanish Berlin | 45 |
| Vladimir Kramnik | 2780 | RUS | 1-0 | Alexei Shirov | 2749 | ESP | Slav Defence | 41 |
Round 3:
| Name | Rating | Country | Result | Name | Rating | Country | Opening | Moves |
| Alexei Shirov | 2749 | ESP | 0.5-0.5 | Magnus Carlsen | 2826 | NOR | Spanish Breyer | 174 |
| Viswanathan Anand | 2800 | IND | 0.5-0.5 | Vladimir Kramnik | 2780 | RUS | Catalan opening | 34 |
Round 4:
| Name | Rating | Country | Result | Name | Rating | Country | Opening | No. Moves |
| Magnus Carlsen | 2826 | NOR | 0.5-0.5 | Vladimir Kramnik | 2780 | RUS | English Opening | 73 |
| Viswanathan Anand | 2800 | IND | 0.5-0.5 | Alexei Shirov | 2749 | ESP | French McClutcheon | 38 |
For more information go to the Official site
On Friday (15th) you will be able to watch the final round live at the following times:
4.30 pm (Bilbao, Paris)
3.30 pm (London)
6.30 pm (Moscow)
11.30 am (New York)
8.30 am (Los Angeles)
