Game Twelve Drawn

Well, regulation play has run out in the big chess match. Game Twelve was another interesting affair, but it ultimately petered out to a draw. Officially the score is tied at six points each. In chess matches of this sort, the custom is that in the case of a tie the players split the prize money evenly, but the champion keeps his title. But that doesn't apply here. After all, Topalov is the official FIDE champion, while Kramnik is the champion by having defeated the previous champion, Gary Kasparov, in a match. This was the match that was supposed to unify the title once again.

So it seems the plan is to play a series of rapid games to decide the title. This means games in which both players have a mere twenty-five minutes for the entire game (though they do have five seconds added to their clock after every move). That is supposed to happen tomorrow, but Kramnik is officially playing under protest owing to his forfeit in game five. Will the tiebreaks actually happen? Wait and see!