Viswanathan Anand finally won the FIDE World Chess Championship yesterday as he defeated the Bulgarian grandmaster Veselin Topalov. It would have been good had yesterday’s game ended in a draw, as this would have extended the tournament. Nevertheless, it was fun following the games move by move online.
For those of you who are chess aficionados, you can play out each of the twelve games by logging in to the following link: http://www.anand-topalov.com/en/results.html. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Associated Press
SOFIA (AFP) – India’s defending champion Viswanathan Anand retained his world chess title on Tuesday by defeating Bulgarian challenger Veselin Topalov in the last of their 12-game duel.
Anand, nicknamed the “Tiger from Madras,” beat Topalov on the 56th move after a series of twists.
Ahead of the final game, Anand and Topalov were tied with 5.5 points each, having each won two games, while seven games had ended in a draw.
The inability to produce a clear winner in the 12th game Tuesday would have forced the players into four tie-break games of rapid chess to decide the next world champion. Another tie would have then led to five five-minute blitz chess matches of two games each, followed by one sudden-death game.
But the 40-year-old Indian grandmaster, whom his fans affectionately call Vishy, managed to wear off Topalov’s defence to bring his score to 6.5 points on Tuesday.
This is the second time he has defended his title after first winning it in 2007.
Tuesday’s final game again confirmed his chess skills and ability to keep a cool head.
“It is certainly the toughest match I have ever played. I can’t recall another experience like this,” Anand told journalists after the game.
“I knew it was going to come down to the question of whose nerves held up and I am really relieved and glad that it was me,” he added.
Topalov failed to make the most of playing white and an error on the 30th move gave Anand a clear advantage.
The Bulgarian, known for his aggressive style, attempted a desperate march of the rook to check Anand on the 40th move.
Still, Anand’s position remained commanding, allowing him to eventually force Topalov to surrender on the 56th move.
“I took a risk and was punished,” Topalov shrugged after the loss.
He said he had refused a draw offered by Anand at some point in the game as he did not want to play a tie-break of rapid chess, where Anand excelled.
This “was a mistake,” he noted.
Anand first became the undisputed world champion in 2007, a year after the title was reunited following a bitter split in the chess world.
The “Tiger from Madras” already once managed to defend his chess crown by beating Russia’s Vladimir Kramnik in 2008 in Bonn, Germany.
The 35-year-old Bulgarian grandmaster Veselin Topalov had won the right to challenge Anand by beating Gata Kamsky of the United States in the semi-final in February 2009.
Anand takes home 1.2 million euros (1.5 million dollars) as the winner, while 800,000 euros in prize money goes to Topalov.
