BackWorld Chess Championship: First game ends in draw
Some experts were of the view that Anand had a small advantage
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Chennai: The world chess title match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen got off to a rather uneventful start in Chennai on Saturday with the first game drawn in just about 90 minutes. After only 16 moves, the players repeated moves, indicating that they weren’t willing to carry on.
Some experts were of the view that Anand had a small advantage. In a post-match press conference, Anand said he seriously considered carrying on, but eventually didn’t see “anything substantial" to pursue.
“A comfortable draw like this (with black pieces) is, of course, very satisfactory," he added. Playing black at this level of competitive chess is considered a small disadvantage.
Carlsen said, he wasn’t “thrilled with the way the game went", and that from very early in the game, “none of my options were particularly promising". “It’s a long match, so no damage done," the Norwegian challenger to Anand’s world title added.
Anand plays white in Sunday’s second game, in which he will have the first mover’s advantage.
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