Kasparov and Karpov Draw Again

The 20th game of the world chess championship was drawn Friday in Seville, Spain. Champion Gary Kasparov, playing white, obtained a slight advantage from the opening, but challenger Anatoly Karpov defended ably to secure the half-point that each competitor gets in a draw. The match remains tied, at 10-10.

Kasparov will retain his world championship title if the 24-game match ends in a 12-12 tie. Several observers, including former challenger Victor Korchnoi of Switzerland, have already predicted that Kasparov will try to draw the remaining games. Friday’s draw was the third straight after Karpov won the 16th game.

The game began with a rarely seen variation of the Queen’s Gambit. White’s 10th move was a novelty. With his 22nd move, Karpov began a series of exchanges that nullified White’s advantage, producing a drawn endgame.

The next game is scheduled for Monday, with Karpov playing white.

Here are the moves in Friday’s game:

Kasparov-Karpov 20: 1 c4 e6 2 Nc3 d5 3 d4 Be7 4 Nf3 Nf6 5 Qc2 0-0 6 Bg5 c5 7 dxc5 dxc4 8 e4 Qa5 9 e5 Nd5 10 Bxc4 Nxc3 11 0-0 Qxc5 12 Qxc3 Nc6 13 Bxe7 Qxe7 14 a3 Bd7 15 Rac1 Rfd8 16 b4 a6 17 Qe3 Be8 18 Bd3 Na7 19 Bb1 Bc6 20 Ng5 h6 21 Ne4 Nb5 22 Rc4 Bxe4 23 Bxe4 Rac8 24 Rxc8 Rxc8 25 Rc1 Rxc1+ 26 Qxc1 Qd7 27 g3 b6 28 Kg2 Qd8 29 h4 a5 30 bxa5 bxa5 31 Qc5 Nd4 32 h5 f5 33 Bb7 Kf7 34 Kh2 Qb8 35 Qxd4 Qxb7 36 g4 Qf3 37 Qd7+ Kf8, Drawn.