Bloodless Match Continues

Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand drew their fifth straight game Monday in the Professional Chess Assn. world championship at the World Trade Center in New York. Neither player has yet won a game. The score is tied at 2 1/2 each.

Opening the match with five draws is unusual but not unprecedented. The 1978 world championship, between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi, began with seven straight draws. But it’s surprising and disappointing that Kasparov and Anand have completed a quarter of their scheduled 20 games without drawing blood.

Chess fans expected these two great attackers to produce thrilling games, but only once have they managed to create an exciting position. In Monday’s game, Kasparov, as Black, repeated the course of the third game until move 14. His choice of 14 . . . Rac8 appears safer than 14 . . . Bc6, the move he used Thursday. By move 20, Black had achieved equal chances in a sterile position. The sixth game, with Kasparov having the advantage of playing White, begins today at noon.

Here are the moves of Monday’s game:

Anand-Kasparov #5: 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Be2 e6 7 0-0 Be7 8 a4 Nc6 9 Be3 0-0 10 f4 Qc7 11 Kh1 Re8 12 Bd3 Nb4 13 a5 Bd7 14 Nf3 Rac8 15 Qe2 Bc6 16 Bb6 Qb8 17 Nd4 Nxd3 18 cxd3 d5 19 Qf3 Nd7 20 Nxc6 bxc6 21 Na4 Qd6 22 Qe3 Qb4 23 Rfc1 c5 24 Qf3 Nf6 25 Nc3 Bd8 26 exd5 exd5 27 Nxd5 Nxd5, Drawn.

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World Chess Championship

Monday: Draw

Standings: Tied at 2 1/2 points apiece in best-of-20 series

Next game: Today