ANAND RETAINS WORLD CHAMPIONS TITLE
Vishy Anand and B.Gelfand
. This is also a hat-trick in classical matches for Anand, who won the tournament format in 2007 in Mexico.
When FIDE switched to match format he defeated Vladimir Kramnik in 2008 in Bonn, Germany, and then won against Veselin Topalv in 2010 in Sofia, Bulgaria. This win against Gelfand is his third match win in a row.
Today when it mattered most, the “Speed King” was at his tactical best be it in attack and defence. “It was a tough match and I am too tense now to feel anything more than a sense of relief,” said the 42-year-old after the game.
The 12-game match had resulted in a 6-6 deadlock, and the tie-breaks were needed to decide the title. In the first game of the rapid, where each player had 25 minutes on the clock with a ten second increment for every move, Anand defended nicely with the black pieces, once again opting for the Slav Defence. The game ended in a draw after 32 moves.
