USA’s GM Fabiano Caruana defeated Russia’s GM Vladimir Kramnik (2783) with the black pieces to join the lead with GM Dieter Nisipeanu (2654) at 3.5/5.
GM Nisipeanu of Germany meanwhile drew with compatriot GM Georg Meier and is all set to have a title clash in the seventh round with GM Caruana.
Standings after Round 5:
| Rank | Name | Score | Elo |
| 1 | Caruana, Fabiano | 3.5/5 | 2805 |
| 2 | Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter | 3.5/5 | 2654 |
| 3 | Kramnik, Vladimir | 3.0/5 | 2783 |
| 4 | Naiditsch, Arkadij | 2.5/5 | 2722 |
| 5 | So, Wesley | 2.5/5 | 2778 |
| 6 | Hou, Yifan | 2.0/5 | 2676 |
| 7 | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 1.5/5 | 2720 |
| 8 | Meier, Georg | 1.5/5 | 2654 |