In chess, in world championship matches, a player can reveal himself to his opponent by his choice of opening move. Four games have been completed so far at the time of writing, and each ended in a draw. But not tame or lifeless draws. Anand grasped a minuscule edge in the third game but refused to venture forth adventurously into no man’s land, preferring to endorse the safety first rule. At one time Anand’s two Bishops controlled much of the board, and he could have won a pawn the analysts say, but he didn’t go for it. Carlsen manned the fort expertly, and any thoughts the world champion entertained of making him uncomfortable, were quickly dissipated. In the first two games,
