Hikaru Nakamura has already played both of his closest rivals (on rating), so is in practical terms the best placed as he can expect realtively easier pairings from now on.
| 1 | GM Hikaru Nakamura (2.5) | 2733 | 0.5-0.5 | GM Alexander Onischuk (2.5) | 2699 |
| 2 | GM Varuzhan Akobian (2.5) | 2599 | 0.5-0.5 | GM Gata Kamsky (2.5) | 2702 |
| 3 | GM Robert Hess(2) | 2590 | 0-1 | GM Yury Shulman (2) | 2613 |
| 4 | GM Jaan Ehlvest (2) | 2591 | 0-1 | GM Alexander Stripunsky (2) | 2570 |
| 5 | GM Alexander Shabalov(1.5) | 2585 | 0-1 | GM Larry Christiansen (2) | 2578 |
| 6 | GM Alex Yermolinsky(1.5) | 2528 | 1-0 | GM Sergey Kudrin (1.5) | 2571 |
| 7 | GM Jesse Kraai(1.5) | 2492 | 1-0 | GM Joel Benjamin (1.5) | 2565 |
| 8 | GM Ray Robson (1) | 2569 | 0.5-0.5 | IM Irina Krush (1.5) | 2455 |
| 9 | GM Aleksandr Lenderman(1) | 2598 | 0.5-0.5 | GM Ben Finegold (1) | 2539 |
| 10 | GM Gregory Kaidanov(1) | 2577 | 0.5-0.5 | GM Melikset Khachiyan (1) | 2539 |
| 11 | IM Levon Altounian(1) | 2454 | 0.5-0.5 | GM Vinay Bhat(0.5) | 2547 |
| 12 | IM Samuel Shankland(0.5) | 2507 | 0.5-0.5 | GM Dmitry Gurevich(0) | 2488 |
The fifth round pairings are as follows. Five of the 24 players are called Alex or Alexander, so not surprisingly there will be a number of meetings between them, for example on board four with Stripunsky playing Yermolinsky later today.
| Bd | Names | rating | Results | Names | rating |
| 1 | GM Yuri Shulman (3) | 2613 | GM Hikaru Nakamura (3) | 2733 | |
| 2 | GM Gata Kamsky (3) | 2702 | GM Larry Christiansen (3) | 2578 | |
| 3 | GM Alexander Onischuk (3) | 2699 | GM Varuzhan Akobian (3) | 2599 | |
| 4 | GM Alexander Stripunsky (3) | 2570 | GM Alex Yermolinsky (2.5) | 2528 | |
| 5 | GM Jaan Ehlvest (2) | 2591 | GM Jesse Kraai (2.5) | 2492 | |
| 6 | IM Irina Krush (2) | 2455 | GM Robert Hess (2) | 2590 | |
| 7 | GM Joel Benjamin (1.5) | 2565 | GM Aleksandr Lenderman (1.5) | 2598 | |
| 8 | GM Melikset Khachiyan (1.5) | 2539 | GM Alexander Shabalov (1.5) | 2585 | |
| 9 | GM Sergey Kudrin (1.5) | 2571 | GM Gregory Kaidanov (1.5) | 2577 | |
| 10 | GM Ben Finegold (1.5) | 2539 | IM Levon Altounian (1.5) | 2454 | |
| 11 | IM Samuel Shankland (1) | 2507 | GM Ray Robson (1.5) | 2569 | |
| 12 | GM Vinay Bhat (1) | 2547 | GM Dmitry Gurevich (0.5) | 2488 |
The winners on boards 3-5, Shulman, Stripunsky and Christiansen (all with the black pieces), join the leading group.
Tha majority of the participants were not born in the USA (14 out of 24?), demonstrating that it is still a country welcoming people from all over the world. Veteran campaigner Larry Christiansen was however home born and bred but has a tough pairing with Black against Gata Kamsky.
You can watch the games live and can find more information on the official tournament site.
