If fortune tellers could predict the end of the world from the wins and losses of Magnus Carlsen, then they can put away their crystal balls and stop wearing signs that say The End Is Here because Carlsen earned his first win in Norway Chess 2015 today against GM Alexander Grischuk. The two players chose the Najdorf variation of the Sicilian Defense with 6.g3, which led to an excitingly devastating endgame in which Carlsen viciously pushed his opponent into the h8 corner:
The standings at the halfway point in the tournament are very exciting and definitely a surprise. Veselin Topalov is clearly in the lead with 4.5/5 at the end of Round 5 following his victory over Jon Ludvig Hammer. Hammer has contributed a number of wins to other players and sits at the bottom of the cross table with 1.0/5 with two draws.
Play through all of the games from Round 5 below: