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Business News/ Industry / Media/  Anand, Carlsen settle for draw in Game 9 of World Chess Championship
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Anand, Carlsen settle for draw in Game 9 of World Chess Championship

The game ended in 20 moves after Anand and Carlsen repeated the same moves thrice, an indication they did not wish to carry on

Game 9 has so far been the shortest game in the two matches played between between Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand in the space of a year. Photo: APPremium
Game 9 has so far been the shortest game in the two matches played between between Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand in the space of a year. Photo: AP

Sochi, Russia: Every half a point takes him closer to the finishing line. So it really doesn’t matter how it comes. Best, if it comes without a fight.

That’s how world chess champion Magnus Carlsen described his uncharacteristic one-hour draw in the ninth game of the world title match against Indian challenger Viswanathan Anand on Thursday. Carlsen, with 5, leads by a point, with only three games remaining in the 12-game match.

Thursday’s game was one of the shortest in the history of world chess championships. Ending in 20 moves, it was the quickest draw in the 19 championship games played between Carlsen and Anand in the two matches in the space of a year.

Considering the match situation, Carlsen said he was “not thrilled", but didn’t mind the quick draw. “Well, that was fun, wasn’t it?" the world champion from Norway said on Twitter shortly after the game ended.

Though the five time world champion from Chennai is under pressure to catch up, Anand, who played with black pieces on Thursday, didn’t appear to be disappointed with the result either.

It gives him time to prepare for the remaining three games, of which he plays two with white pieces—considered a small advantage. “I have to try harder with white (pieces)," Anand said.

Thursday’s result is “slightly in Vishy’s favour," British grandmaster Nigel Short said, commenting on the match situation on Twitter. “Three games (are) enough to level the score but it is now time to sharpen the struggle."

It is very unusual for Carlsen to accept such quick draws, so Anand and his team must be “ecstatic", said US grandmaster Susan Pogar on Twitter.

“I would put the odds around 54-46 in favour of Magnus (Carlsen)," she said, commenting on the current match situation.

Speaking about Thursday’s game, Carlsen said Anand turned out better prepared than him, and he wasn’t very sure how to carry on, so settled for a draw by repetition of moves.

Anand said he had a comfortable position but a draw, whether a quick one or at the end of long battle, was a “reasonable" outcome.

Asked about his performance in this match, Carlsen said he was “inconsistent" and so the contest at Sochi was much closer than a year ago in Chennai.

By the ninth game, the match at Chennai had almost ended for Anand. At this stage in last year’s match, Carlsen led by three points and needed only half-a-point to claim the world chess title. The match in Chennai ended in 10 games with the last one ending in a draw.

Carlsen has since extended his control over the sport, winning this year the world title in the shorter variants of chess as well. He is the outright favourite to defend his title in the classical format as well at Sochi.

The scores in the ongoing match remained tied till the fifth game, with both Carlsen and Anand winning one game each, but the world champion took the lead from the sixth game. The three games since have all ended in draws, the last two being rather short ones by Carlsen’s standard.

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Published: 20 Nov 2014, 07:46 PM IST
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