In any case, Karjakin doesn't yet seem fazed by Carlsen's efforts to mess around with opening expectations, although all chess fans should be heartened by the Norwegian champ's avoidance, thus far, of the most popular Grandmaster openings. The Morphy isn't any less inherently draw-ish than other ways black can respond to the main opening line of the Ruy, but at modern Grandmaster-level play, it isn't as sure a thing as the Berlin. Retreating the bishop enabled Fisher to have precisely the setup he wanted to attack the black king once it castled to the black kingside. That said, the so-called 'Closed' variation of the Ruy Lopez was one that no less a player than Bobby Fischer enjoyed from the white side.

I love to play to Morphy - named for the fascinating American 19th-century master, Paul Morphy - and typically see it as a good way for black to either force white to part with the light-square bishop (generally considered to be his or her 'better' bishop) or equalize the game by negating white's 'first move' tempo advantage by retreating the bishop, wasting a move. In Game 2, he responded to Karjakin's Ruy Lopez not with the Berlin Defence, which has obtained a reputation at elite levels for a being a drawing weapon for black, but with the much older Morphy Defence.

In Game 1, he tried an offbeat opening, the Trompowsky Attack with white. Not that Carlsen has been pushing for them. Thus far, we've seen two draws - not a surprising result, considering that this is a long-haul match, and that Carlsen and Karjakin have often played to draws. The match will resume on Monday at 2 PM ET.

Round 2 concluded on Saturday with a draw both players now have a point, with ten games remaining to be played. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.

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