Karjakin trumps Tromp - First World Championship Match drawn

The first game of the 2016 World Championship was a fairly staid affair, with neither player really pushing for more than equality during the game. Carlsen played the Trompowsky as White, which while not being mainstream (for the World Championship), was not a total surprise, given the nature of Carlsen's opening repertoire.
The usual Tromp middlegame was soon reached, with White surrendering the bishop pair to give Black doubled f pawns. For Carlsen this was probably a position he wanted, as he has an opportunity to probe for weaknesses in the position, but accurate defence by Karjakin left Carlsen without any winning chances.
So 0.5-0.5 after the first game, and a result that will surely please Karjakin. Tomorrow will see colours reversed, and it will be interesting to see if Carlsen tries a risky opening with Black, or is happy to equalise via more mainstream systems.


Carlsen,Magnus (2853) - Karjakin,Sergey (2772) [A45]
WCh 2016 New York USA (1), 11.11.2016