Carlsen showed his intentions of a bloody battle when, contrary to the popular belief, repeated the Reti opening.
"I was expecting that Carlsen would jump from one opening to another," said Grandmaster R B Ramesh, who is a part of the live commentary team here.
As is typical of the Reti opening, the changes to several set ups is possible. Carlsen went for a position akin to the English opening that was more of a Sicilian Dragon with colours reversed.