Vishy wins the World Championship in a Tie-Breaker

In a keenly contested Chess world championship, Vishwanathan Anand prevailed in the 4-game tie-breaker to win the FIDE World Chess champion title for the 3rd time in a row and his 5th overall. The four tie-breaker games are given below in an interactive format.

Game 1 : This game fluctuated a lot, and the nerves were starkly visible as both players desperately tried to gain the upper hand. It ended in a draw due to a complicated position with very little time left on the clock.

Game 1: Boris Gelfand(White) 1/2 – 1/2 Vishwanathan Anand (Black)

Game 2 : The game was pretty evenly balanced for a long while and it looked like Gelfand would hold on to a draw. But time management proved to be a key factor and Gelfand had to make some moves with literally no time on the clock. Anand won due to some inaccurate moves at the end by Gelfand. The score read 1.5-0.5 in Anand’s favour.

Game 2: Vishwanathan Anand(White) 1 – 0 Boris Gelfand (Black)

Game 3 : Gelfand had the edge with white for most of the game but frittered away the advantage on his 31st move and had to struggle to hold on to the draw. The score was now 2-1 in Anand’s favour, and Anand only needed a draw in the last game while playing white to defend his Championship.

Game 3: Boris Gelfand(White) 1/2 – 1/2 Vishwanathan Anand (Black)

Game 4 : Gelfand had to go for a win and he tried hard, but once the queens were off the board and Gelfand again came under time trouble, Anand managed to hold on for a draw and win the World Championship. Tie-breakers usually favor Anand, and he showed us exactly why.

Game 4: Vishwanathan Anand(White) 1/2 – 1/2 Boris Gelfand (Black)

Gelfand threw a lot of interesting stuff at Anand but Vishy was able to handle it all. That said, at the start of the championship no one expected such a close match, so all credit to Gelfand for making it a real thriller.