Indian Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand has won the World Chess Championship Title for the Fifth Time consecutively at Moscow. He defeated  Israeli challenger Boris Gelfand by 2.5-1.5 in the four-match tie breaker at Moscow’s State Tretyakov Gallery.
The tournament went into the tie-breakers after Anand and Gelfand drew the 12th game, Monday. They were tied 6-6 after the final round.
Anand went ahead in the tie-breaker after winning the second game in 77 moves following a draw in the first. The first game ended in a draw in 33 moves. The remaining two games ended in draws.
Anand will receive $1.5 million, while challenger Gelfand bags $1 million.
Anand, 42, has held the undisputed World Chess Champion title since October 2008, when he defeated Russia’s Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn, Germany. He defended his title in 2009 by beating Bulgarian opponent Veselin Topalov 6.5-5.5 in Sofia.
Gelfand, 43, gained the right to be contender for the world title after a win last May against Russia’s Alexander Grischuk at a contenders’ tournament in Kazan, Russia.
Russian billionaire and Gelfand’s school friend Andrey Filatov paid $7 million from his own pocket to hold the event in one of the halls of the renowned State Tretyakov Gallery.
“Game one was a tense start. It was a long and tough match. The match was very intense, I am relieved. I was better for most part in the second game. It was a back and forth game,” Anand told reporters after winning his third straight title at the renowned State Tretyakov Gallery.
Anand admitted that Gelfand was a tough competitor.
“I am too tense to be happy, right now now I am relieved. Gelfand was playing well, the match was very even,” he said.
The 42-year-old Indian said losing the seventh game had put him on the back-foot and he felt fortunate to defend the crown.
“It was a huge blow for me to lose the seventh game. It was very critical moment for me. I was extremely fortunate that I was able to come back the next day. Given that we drew our first 12 games, deciding the match by tie-break is quite a reasonable situation,” he said.