Reigning world chess champion Magnus Carlsen said he was "extremely relieved" to have clinched the New York series' 10th round, played well into Thursday night, local time.

Norway's Carlsen, 25, and Russia's Sergey Karjakin, who on Monday pulled ahead with a win, faced each other for six hours and 30 minutes in Thursday's match. Carlsen won on the 75th move after maintaining space advantage in the board's center.

Karjakin, 26, fought back after his 56th-move mistake that cost him a pawn, but was forced to concede when Carlsen rounded off with rook maneuvers.

Carlsen said he felt "extremely relieved" to have drawn the series in the 10th round. Last Monday, Karjakin led, 4.5 to 3.5 points. The players will take Friday off for recuperation. The first to reach 6.5 points will become champion; a draw results in each player receiving half a point, while a round victory is worth one point.

Final due Wednesday

The series final is scheduled for Wednesday, assuming that one of them reaches 6.5 points to win and take home 600,000 euros ($636,000).

If they are still drawn, tiebreakers will be held.

The chess battle in New York between the two relatively young players has prompted comparisons with the 1972 showdown between American Bobby Fischer and the-then Soviet Union's Boris Spassky.

ipj/sms (AFP, dpa, SID)