Clad in a blue NIIT shirt and crystal white glasses, his left hand aligned perpendicular to the chess table, giving rest to his head and his face reflecting a champion’s gleam, Indian Chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand retained the World Chess Championship title, winning it for the fifth time which was also his fourth crown in a row.
Anand beat Israeli Grandmaster Boris Gelfand 2.1-1.5 in a nail-biting tie breaker on Wednesday at the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. Game 1 of the tie-breaker finished with a draw in mere thirty three moves right before Anand defeated Gelfand in game 2 in seventy seven moves and drew the other three to clinch the title. The atmosphere in the Russian art gallery was intense while the champion and challenger were battling it out for the prestigious title. Boris gave a tough fight to Anand over the past three weeks. Vishy’s luck and speed were key factors in his win over Gelfand. At the end of all the games, Anand had ample time on his clock while Gelfand slowed down in the end, rather due to Anand’s prodigious moves.
This exceptional win gave Vishy approximately USD 1.4 million and a chance to hold his crown till 2014, when the next World Championship will be held. Vishwanathan Anand held his nerve and maintained his speed till the end which helped him achieve this remarkable feat. Anand won the title in 2007 among 8 players. While in 2008 and 2010 he defeated Vladmir Kramnik and Vaselin Topalov repectively after the format changed to challenger-champion matches.
