Caruana springs opening surprise to hold Carlsen

LONDON: Defending champion Magnus Carlsen and his American challenger played out a draw in the second match of the World Chess Championship in London on Saturday, though it was in sharp contrast to the marathon opening contest the previous day.

The 27-year-old Norwegian, aiming to win his fourth world title in a row, played with white pieces but for the second game could not force a win. The match meandered towards a drawish position, which was acknowledged by many experts. After the first time control and 49 moves, the players agreed to a draw.

The two young stars have one point each with 10 more games to go in the 12-match contest. The player who first reaches 6.5 points will win the championship. If points are level, it will go into four games of rapid, two games of blitz and sudden death.

The championship began in rousing fashion on Friday after the opening game ended in a draw after a marathon seven hours and 115 moves. The players signed the peace treaty 10 moves short of the longest game in the worlds.

Although neither player has managed a win in the first two games, both have come under pressure. In the opening game, Caruana, 29, blundered his 17th move, but Carlsen failed to drive home his opponent’s time pressure and committed a mistake in the 40th move. After a rest day, Game Three will be played on Monday.

On Saturday, Caruana, playing with black, held a clear advantage after the opening moves because Carlsen’s pawns were advanced and difficult to defend. But Carlsen was able to defend far better and force an endgame in which each player only had a rook with their pawns on one side of the board.

Caruana seemed to have surprised Carlsen with his opening preparation. The American’s sharpness was evident in the queen’s gambit declined that provided him a dynamic position as early as the 10th move.

“This was not very good,” Carlsen said after the game. “I was surprised in the opening. I thought I had chances of a small advantage. I miscalculated something. Then I had to beg for a draw, but that went without problems. I am not happy about this, but it’s better than losing. He played a completely new move that actually doesn’t look natural to me. I have to look at it later.”