Kasparov, Karpov End 12th Chess Game in a Draw

The 12th game of the world chess championship ended in a draw Wednesday after 21 moves at the proposal of titleholder Gary Kasparov, who leads challenger Anatoly Karpov by one point.

The draw left the score in points in the 24-game duel between the two Soviet grandmasters at 6 1/2 to 5 1/2 in Kasparov’s favor.

Analysts said Karpov’s decision to return to the board without taking time out after losing in the 11th game was probably intended to show that the defeat had not dealt him a bruising blow.

But neither side seemed in the mood for action in their 12th encounter.

Karpov, with black, thwarted Kasparov’s attempts at the English opening and the game moved toward a variation of the queen’s gambit.

Seeking a positional edge, the players consumed two hours for the first 14 moves and had exchanged only a pawn apiece by the game’s end. With white and black evenly positioned, Kasparov proposed a draw in the 21st move after 3 1/2 hours of play and Karpov readily accepted.

The 36-year-old challenger’s defeat in the 11th game, caused by his own error, leaves him with two victories to Kasparov’s three. The other seven games ended in draws, which count for half a point.

Here are the moves:

Kasparov-Karpov 12: 1 c4 e6 2 Nc3 d5 3 d4 Be7 4 cxd5 exd5 5 Bf4 Nf6 6 e3 Bf5 7 Nge2 0-0 8 Rc1 c6 9 Ng3 Be6 10 Bd3 Re8 11 Qb3 Qb6 12 Qc2 Nbd7 13 0-0 g6 14 h3 Bf8 15 Nge2 Rac8 16 Qd2 Nh5 17 Bh2 Ng7 18 g4 Qd8 19 f3 Nb6 20 b3 Ba3 21 Rc2 Drawn.