19 July 2016
Inarkiev Draws Gelfand In Game 5
Gelfand leads the match 6-4.
The 5th game of Gelfand-Inarkiev match was played on July 19 in Magas. Mr. Inarkiev had White. The players continued a theoretical discussion in the Rossolimo Sicilian. Gelfand was first to deviate from the third game. He offered a positional pawn sacrifice, obtaining the bishop pair and mobile pawn center as compensation.
It looked like Inarkiev's clever maneuvers with minor pieces yielded him an advantage, but Gelfand defended splendidly and found a hidden resource – he sacrificed another pawn, but activated his pieces to a maximum. In order to avoid trouble, Inarkiev had to return his extra pawns. White's slight initiative soon evaporated, and the game ended in a draw.
