Defending champion Viswanathan Anand has held Norwegian challenger Magnus Carlsen to a quick draw in the first game of their chess world championship match, with the black pieces.
According to News.com.au, playing in Chennai on Saturday close to where Anand was born, the 43-year-old Indian grandmaster forced Carlsen to repeat a position by chasing his opponent's queen back and forth with a knight, leading to an automatic draw after just 16 moves.
That gives Anand a slight early advantage, as he now gets the white pieces in six of the remaining 11 games, the report said.
The 22-year-old Carlsen is the biggest star in chess and the game's top-ranked player, but this is his first world championship match, the report added.
Anand has held the world title since 2007 and has defended it against three previous opponents, according to the report.