World number two Viswanathan Anand was held to an easy draw by Grandmaster Peter Leko of Hungary in the first game of the semi-final in the Dortmund Sparkassen chess tournament in Dortmund, Germany.
Braingames match winner Grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik of Russia also settled for a draw with compatriot Peter Svidler marking a peaceful opening to this hugely followed two-game semis, being played on the knockout basis. Tiebreaker game will come into effect if the scores are level.
The lone decisive game of the day was played by local interest Arkadij Naiditsch who defeated world's youngest ever Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin in a keenly contested match.
Also fighting for 5-8 place in this unique contest was GM Viktor Bologan of Moldova, who settled for truce with Aeroflot open winner GM Sergei Rublevsky of Russia.
Anand, considered a huge favourite to win the crown, did not take much time in deciding that he had not got enough from the opening. Playing the white side of a Sicilian Sveshnikov, Anand got nothing in the middle game and decided to take a half point in the crucial first game.
In the return game on Saturday, Leko will have the advantage of playing white and the Hungarian is not likely to leave any stones unturned to try to get past Anand.
Semi-final game 1:
Viswanathan Anand drew with Peter Leko; Vladimir Kramnik drew with Peter Svidler
Playoffs 5th-8th:
Arkadij Naiditsch beat Sergey Karjakin; Viktor Bologan drew with Sergei Rublevsky.
