18th Chess Game Adjourns at 41st Move

The 18th game of the World Chess Championship adjourned Friday with titleholder Gary Kasparov in difficulty.

Kasparov sealed his 41st move in a position that most experts judged as favorable for challenger Anatoly Karpov, who won the 17th game on Wednesday.

In Friday’s contest Kasparov, playing white, varied from the forthright openings which brought him victory in games 14 and 16, playing instead the Leningrad variation of the Nimzo-Indian.

With 25 moves played, Kasparov had the opportunity to draw the game by repetition of moves, but despite a severe shortage of time to complete his first 40 moves, rejected a safe approach, throwing his pieces forward in an effort to win.

When the 40th move was completed Karpov immediately got up, obviously satisfied with his escape from a lost position. Kasparov, visibly depressed, thought for almost 20 minutes before sealing his 41st move.

Another victory for the challenger when the game resumes today would reduce his deficit to one point. Kasparov leads the 24-game series by 9 1/2 points to 7 1/2.