Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura played out a well-fought 49-move draw to kick-start the best-of-seven-set title clash of the $300,000 Magnus Calrsen Chess Tour Finals on Friday.

Nakamura, the highest-rated blitz player in the world, showed he was not intimidated by the favourite and came out a briefly worrying position to prove equal.

Carlsen opted for the Sicilian Najdorf and drove the game into an unfamiliar territory for Nakamura. From the 14th move, Carlsen chose to invest more time in making progress. As a result, by the 21st move, he had burnt five minutes more than Nakamura.

With the kings castled on the opposite flanks, queens off the board and 12 pawns in play, Carlsen offered a central pawn on the 22nd move.

Nakamura took the pawn spending much of his extra time. Later, with Carlsen’s pieces showing more harmony, Nakamura even sacrificed his rook for a bishop to keep the balance of the position.

A little later, Carlsen respected Nakamura’s defence by returning the rook for a bishop, before the trading of knights led to a draw.

The result: Final: (Set One, Game One): Hikaru Nakamura (USA) drew with Magnus Carlsen (Nor).