New Delhi : Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand on Wednesday retained the World Chess Championships title, his fifth crown and fourth in a row, after beating Israel’s Boris Gelfand in a tense rapid game tie-breaker here on Wednesday.

Anand beat Gelfand 2.5-1.5 in rapid chess tie-breaker at the Tretyakov Gallery here after the two Grandmasters ended the 12-game championship match with a 6-6 stalemate.

The first game of the tie-breaker ended in a draw in 33 moves before Anand beat Gelfand in the second game in 77 moves. The two of the remaining four-game rapid chess tie-breaker ended in a draw as Anand successfully defended his world championship title for the third time in a row.

This was 42-year-old 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.

Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand on Wednesday retained the World Chess Championships title, his fifth crown and fourth in a row, after beating Israel’s Boris Gelfand in a tense rapid game tie-breaker here on Wednesday.

Prime Minister congratulates Viswanathan Anand

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today congratulated Viswanathan Anand for winning the fifth World Chess Championship, saying he had made the nation proud.

‘You are a great inspiration to the youth of our country, particularly the sports enthusiasts. You have made the nation proud of you with this monumental achievement,’ Singh said in his message.

The Prime Minister wished Anand many more successes in the future. PTI