Chess kings in 'Armageddon' battle for world crown

MOSCOW (AFP) –

Israel’s Boris Gelfand (L) plays against India’s world chess champion Vishwanathan Anand during a tie-break of FIDE World chess championship match in State Tretyakovsky Gallery in Moscow on May 30. Anand and his Israeli challenger on Wednesday clashed in a rapid fire battle of nerves to decide the biggest prize in the sport.

India’s world chess champion Viswanathan Anand and his Israeli challenger Boris Gelfand on Wednesday clashed in a rapid fire battle of nerves to decide the biggest prize in the sport.

After drawing on Monday the final regular match in their 12-game Moscow series to leave the world championships level, the two grandmasters were forced into the chess equivalent of a football penalty shoot.

Dubbed the “Battle of the Armageddon” in chess circles, Wednesday’s match sees two of the finest players the world has ever seen lock horns in up to 15 thrilling speed chess games to determine the world champion.

Gelfand and Anand played out the first game of the tie-break amid huge tension at the host venue of the Tretyakov art gallery, with each player knowing that one mistake could cost them the championships.

The first game ended in a draw in which commentators said Gelfand, playing white, was initially in deep trouble but rescued himself with a series of brilliant moves and Anand missed a chance to take a more attacking position.

India’s world chess champion Vishwanathan Anand (L) plays against Israel’s Boris Gelfand during a tie-break of FIDE World chess championship match in State Tretyakovsky Gallery in Moscow on May 30. Anand and his Israeli challenger on Wednesday clashed in a rapid fire battle of nerves to decide the biggest prize in the sport.

Anand, dressed in his usual blue shirt, sat rooted to his chair as the more expressive Gelfand ran his hands through his hair and took long walks away from the board to think out his positions.

Wednesday’s series will initially feature four short 25-minute speed chess games. If this produces no winner then up to 10 more “blitz” 5-minute games can be played with even shorter time restrictions of just five minutes each.

If the scores are still equal after all that, the match would go to a sudden death single game “golden goal” decider in which black would get four minutes and white five.

In a final game whose tension would be almost unbearable for the players, black would be declared winner in case of a draw because of the shorter time in which it can make moves.