chess

"I'll give it one more shot," said Viswanathan Anand at a press conference after a disappointingly brief draw in the 16th game of the PCA/Intel world championship. He was replying to a journalist who asked whether Anand thought he ought to be able to agree another draw immediately, thereby conceding the title to Kasparov and letting everyone go home.

There must be a part of Anand that would like to follow the questioner's advice. After the battering he sustained in games 10 to 14 - five games that gave him only half a point - anyone would want to go home. Yet he needs to play one good game at the end of the match to revive his hopes for next time.

After a weekend's rest, Anand ought to be able to channel his annoyance at Kasparov's piece-banging, door-slamming behaviour, and his irritation at the organisers' inability to construct a truly sound-proof booth with reliable air conditioning. Slow to anger, Anand must by now be inwardly furious with himself and everything around him. If he can turn that fury into one last good game, he can still end the match on a positive note.

On Friday, the 16th game produced only five original moves on each side. Playing Black, Anand adopted the same line in the Sicilian Defence that Kasparov had played in the early games of the match. At move 16, Kasparov varied from Anand's e5 of game seven, and the players packed up soon after.

Kasparov leads 91/2-61/2 and needs only another half-point to retain his title.

White: Garry Kasparov

Black: Viswanathan Anand

Game 12

1 e4 c5 11 Kh1 Re8

2 Nf3 d6 12 Bd3 Nb4

3 d4 exd4 13 a5 Bd7

4 Nxd4 Nf6 14 Nf3 Rac8

5 Nc3 a6 15 Bb6 Qb8

6 Be2 e6 16 Bd4 Bc6

7 0-0 Be7 17 Qd2 Nxd3

8 a4 Nc6 18 cxd3 Nd7

9 Be3 0-0 19 Bg1 Qc7

10 f4 Qc7 20 Nd4 draw