London: Playing with black pieces, world Champion Viswanathan Anand managed an easy draw against top British player Michael Adams in the first round of the third Chess Classic.
It was Anand's 10th draw in a row in classical chess.
World Number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway snatched an early lead in the 160000 Pounds Sterling tournament after defeating David Howell of England in a tense game.
With the soccer-like scoring system in place with three points for a win and one for a draw, the Norwegian enjoys a two-point lead over nearest rivals as the other games ended in draws.
Anand went for the Sicilian Najdorf and faced a harmless-looking Classical set-up from Adams who played white.
The middle game witnessed exchanges at regular intervals and Anand might have had chances to go for a win.
However, with precise liquidation, Adams came down to a queen and pawns endgame which was a routine draw.
"Even if they had been using a 9-1-0 scoring system in Moscow, I would probably still have drawn all my games," said Anand, who has a byein the second round.
Earlier, the tournament got off to a lively start with the presence of tennis star Boris Becker.
The German came on crutches following an injury during a game and stole the limelight as he inaugurated the event as a special guest.
This was also followed by a couple of chess games with Nigel Short of England who had a bye in the nine-player round robin tournament.
In the other two games of the day, Levon Aronian spoilt a position of strength against Luke McShane of England while Vadimir Kramnik of Russia played out a draw with Hikaru Nakamura of United States.
As things stand, Carlsen is atop on three points while Anand, Kramnik, Adams and Nakamura share the second spot with one point each. Short is yet to play a game while Howell stands at the bottom of the tables.
Carlsen scored over Howell in a complicated game. The latter resigned in a position in which there was still some play left but Howell decided it was an inevitable checkmate after move 40.
Nakamura and Kramnik fought out in Catalan where the latter played with white pieces. The contest ended in a draw.
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