Short draws in World Cup chess

CHENNAI: Safety-first seems to be the priority in the chess World Cup. The semifinals at Khanty-Mansiysk featured two short draws in the first game on Monday as Russians Peter Svidler and Alexander Grischuk, with white, could not get any breakthrough.
Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine employed the Spanish opening against Svilder and quickly reached a well-analysed dead end after 20 moves with nothing left on the board to fight for.The queen, rooks and a couple of minor pieces remained but then the position was more or less equal. Ponomariov had a double pawn on the queenside but Svidler was not in a position to press for a win.
Grischuk was in a similar position against Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine in the French defence with exchanges coming at a rapid pace. By move 22, one of those familiar endings was in sight with the queen, rooks and the same coloured bishop on the board. The Russians will play with black on Tuesday.