chess

After two games of the world championship in New York, it is clear that neither player has yet settled into this five-week long contest. In the opening game, the challenger, Viswanathan Anand, 24, played with unusual restraint with the white pieces. Garry Kasparov, 32, also showed signs of nerves, offering a draw in a slightly superior position.

His strategy in the second game also seemed to be dictated primarily by caution. After securing an advantageous position from the opening, he thought for 44 minutes over his 16th move, then chose a plan involving a quick exchange of queens.

In the resulting endgame, Black's slightly weakened K-side pawns gave him cause for concern, but Anand's accurate manoeuvre of his knight to d6 and pawns to b6 and h6 formed a defensive formation that denied White any chance of advancing.

Remembering that two years ago Nigel Short scored only one draw in his first four games against Kasparov, Anand can be happy to have two solid half-points under his belt already. But with 18 games to play, the real match has yet to start.

Here are the full moves of the second game:

White: Garry Kasparov Black: Viswanathan Anand

1 d4 Nf6 9 Bxd4 Nc6

2 c4 e6 10 Bxf6 gxf6

3 Nc3 Bb4 11 Ne2 Bd7

4 Qc2 d5 12 a3 Qe5

5 cxd5 Qxd5 13 Nc3 f5

6 e3 c5 14 0-0-0 0-0-0

7 Bd2 Bxc3 15 g3 Kb8

8 Bxc3 cxd4 16 Be2 Ne7

17 Qd3 Qc7 24 Kd3 Nd6

18 Qd6 Bc6 25 Kd4 b6

19 Qxc7+ Kxc7 26 b4 Ke7

20 Rhe1 Rxd1+ 27 f4 h6

21 Rxd1 Rd8 28 a4 f6

22 Rxd8 Kxd8 29 a5 Bd7

23 Kd2 Nc8 Draw agreed