Anand led 2-1 going into the fourth game of the tie-breaker, which was set up after a tied 6-6 result with his Israeli challenger Boris in the 12th and final game in Moscow on Monday, and finished the fourth game 2.5 to 1.5. Anand, playing his third match since winning the world title in a tournament format in 2007, won the second game and drew the first and third to move close to the title. Gelfand tried hard in the fourth game, and had several chances to press home the advantage, but failed in his bid as Anand defended well.
"The only feeling I have is relief ... I am too tense to be happy," Anand said in the post-match press conference. "Now I am really relieved. This match was very intense. When I woke up this morning, it was so even ... I had no sense what shape the tiebreak would take. We played a reasonable game."
Gelfand too echoed Anand's thoughts that it was too close for comfort going into the tiebreaker. "It was [an] equal match," Gelfand said. "The problem for me was the time; I was running behind the time. I did blunder in [the] second game ... In [the] fourth game I had [the] advantage but I let it go."
Today's tie-breaker at the State Tretyakov Gallery consisted of four games under rapid chess rules with 25 minutes to each player and a ten seconds increment after every move was made.
This was Anand's fifth World Championships title and fourth crown in a row. The Indian chess wizard bagged his first world title in 2000 before winning three in a row in 2007, 2008 and 2010. He has been the world champion since 2007.
Anand will pocket approximately USD 1.4 million -- 55 per cent of the total prize fund of USD 2.55 million -- while Gelfand will get the remaining amount.
The Indian ace won the 2007 crown in a tournament format among eight players. In 2008 and 2010, he beat Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria respectively after the format changed to championship match between the defending champion and a challenger.
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