Support The Moscow Times!

Anand Wins Chess World Title

Grandmaster Anand sealed his win in a tiebreak Wednesday in Moscow.

World chess champion Viswanathan Anand of India has retained his title, beating Israeli challenger Boris Gelfand 2.5-1.5 in a rapid tiebreaker round of four games Wednesday.

Tied at 6 after 12 regular games, the two played four rapid games with a shortened time limit of 25 minutes per player, with 10 seconds allowed for each move.

The first game was won by Anand. Then the players drew the next three.

Hundreds of chess fans watched in the engineering wing of the State Tretyakov Gallery. The winner takes home $1.5 million, while the loser is awarded $1 million. The award ceremony will take place Thursday.

Anand, 42, has been champion since 2007. He last successfully defended his title in 2010 against Bulgarian challenger Veselin Topalov.

Both players are chess veterans and first faced each other in 1989. Anand became India's first grandmaster in 1987, and he is one of only six players to break the 2,800 mark on chess body FIDE's rating list.

As champion, he will face the winner of the candidates tournament in the world chess championship next year.

Neither Anand nor Gelfand is ranked among the top three players in the world. Anand is No. 4; Gelfand is No. 22.

The world No.1, Norwegian 21-year-old Magnus Carlsen, pulled out of the candidate's tournament, which Gelfand won to gain the right to challenge Anand.

(AP, MT)

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more