Chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand draws first game with Norwegian sensation Magnus Carlsen
From: AP
November 09, 2013 11:49PM
REIGNING world chess champion Viswanathan Anand opened the defence of his crown against young pretender, Norwegian sensation Magnus Carlsen, with a draw in the first game.
Both players agreed to draw after 16 moves each to remain even at the start of the 12-game showpiece watched by a select gathering of 350 inside the main hall of a luxury hotel and by thousands on live television.
Anand, 43, has been the game’s undisputed champion since 2007, but experts predict the end of the road for the Indian against current world number one Carlsen, who is 21 years younger.
“I am happy it was a fairly comfortable draw with black,” said Anand. “But there is a long way to go and it is very difficult to predict what will happen over the next 11 games.”
Carlsen also appeared satisfied with a draw despite the advantage of playing first with white. “In the past, I have played a couple of embarrassing draws with white, so this was okay,” he said. “No damage done.”
The second game will be held on Sunday.
With one point awarded for a win and half a point for a draw, the first man to reach 6.5 points will be declared the champion.
If points are equal after the 12th game on November 26, the match will be decided by a sudden-death game on November 28.
The total prize fund for the title clash is approximately $US2.24 million ($2.39 million), with the winner getting 60 per cent and the loser taking home the rest.
Source: http://www.couriermail.com.au
Everyone is happy.
Well just wait until until Sunday and we will see who is the best
Play like the women – usually a win or loss situation. Draw after only 16 moves? Not good value for entertainment!
First is Kramnik is the real one who should be playing here. Both as defending Champion and as Challenger,getting ripped off by the FIDE by forcing him to surrender his title in Mexico Tournament. The the tiebreak in the candidates. And maybe even Ivanchuck taking some drugs for the last game? Anyway, so we now have Magnus Drawsen in this match againgst Vishywashy Anand. We need to get the Kasparov back.