Three-time defending champion Magnus Carlsen drew with American Fabiano Caruana in their gruelling first game of the World Chess Championship here on Friday.
“It could have been better,” Norway’s Carlsen, 27, said after the seven-hour opener, the first of an expected 12 games taking place until Nov. 26.
“At a certain point it was very promising... my head was working well but obviously the conclusion of the game shows that I still have things to work on.”
But 26-year-old Caruana, the first American to compete since the legendary Bobby Fischer in 1972, suggested he was pleased with the outcome after 115 moves.
“I had a very strong feeling that I was losing for a number of moves,” he said.
Carlsen is seeking to cement his reputation as one of history’s greatest chess players, while Caruana is another young prodigy helping to bring back mass appeal to the highbrow game.
The title goes to the first person to reach 6.5 points, with a rapid series of tiebreakers played in case the two are level after the first 12 games.