King of chess Viswanathan Anand wins crown for the 5th time

MOSCOW: Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand showed immense resilience to beat challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel in a tense rapid chess tie-breaker to win the World Championship crown for the fifth time and fourth in a row in Moscow on Wednesday.


Anand won the second game and drew the other three to win the title at the State Tretyakov Gallery here. Luck played a major part in the final game, favouring the Indian chess wizard when it mattered the most.


After a 6-6 deadlock in the 12 Classical games, the rapid finale ended 2.5-1.5 in Anand's favour making him the world chess champion five times in all and four times in a row since 2007.


The victory also meant that the 'King of Chess' will keep the crown till 2014, when the next World Championship will be held.