The 12th and final game of the world chess championship ended the same way as the first 11. It was a draw.

Commentators and chess computers seemed to give a slight advantage to the champion, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, for much of the match on Monday in London, since he was ahead on the board and had more time available for his remaining moves. But Carlsen nonetheless offered a draw after a paltry 31 moves. The challenger, Fabiano Caruana of the United States, accepted, making it the shortest of the 12 games in the championship.

The result means that after a day off on Tuesday, this year’s championship — which began Nov. 9 — will finally be decided on Wednesday. After three weeks of hourslong daily games, Carlsen and Caruana will first face off in four speed chess games, with each player limited to only 25 minutes to play all his moves.

If the match is still tied after the speed games, the players will begin a series of two-game blitz matches, in which they will be given only five minutes to make all their moves. If either player takes the lead after any of these two-game matches, he will win the title.