World Chess Championship: Carlsen, Karjakin play out another draw

For the sixth game in a row, nothing could separate Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin. The Norwegian and the Russian played out yet another draw at the World chess championship title match in New York on Friday.

Carlsen and Karjakin in-action during their sixth game.

For the sixth game in a row, nothing could separate Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin. The Norwegian and the Russian played out yet another draw at the World Chess Championship title match in New York on Friday.

The score remains 3-3 at the half-way stage. The match will resume on Sunday, after a day’s rest. In the seventh game, Karjakin will have white pieces, for the second game in succession.

Not that he could gain anything significant after playing with white pieces in the sixth game, which saw the Ruy Lopez opening making a return. That means four of the six games in the match have begun on similar lines.

Though all those games were drawn, most of them had provided a lot of excitement to the chess fan. But, not in game six.

It was all over in just two hours and 32 moves. In the final, equal position, both the men had the queen and four pawns apiece, along with the opposite-coloured bishops.

“It is good to get a short day,” Carlsen, the winner of the last two World champions, said. “I am quite satisfied with a short game and now I will go and try and prepare for the next.”

His Russian rival felt the champion’s opening preparations were underestimated. “As I have said before, Magnus is very good in the openings,” Karjakin said. “I have a feeling that the match is interesting.”