Anand: Judgment day beckons

World champion Viswanathan Anand successfully defends his title in tie-breaker against Gelfand.

Defending champion Viswanathan Anand was involved in a rapid chess tie-breaker against challenger Boris Gelfand after scores were tied 6-6 in the World Chess Championship match.

To start with,there would be four games with 25 minutes to each player and a ten seconds increment after every move is made. In case of a 2-2 result,the two would have had to play two blitz games with five minutes each with a three-second increment. Five such matches were to be played if the tie persists and finally an Armageddon game would be played with five minutes to white and four to black and white will have to win. Any which way,the world championships will be decided on Wednesday.

The tie-breaker was likely to result in drama on the board in a match-up where there has been little excitement with both players being rather cautious. During the 12-game classical match there were just two decisive games and 10 draws. Playing his third match since winning the world title in tournament format in 2007,this has been the least absorbing contest for Anand.

In 2008,the Indian ace had won three of four decisive games against Russian Vladimir Kramnik,while in 2010 against Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria,Anand had won three out of five decisive games to stake his claim for the world title. This time,seven of the 10 draws were in less than thirty moves,indicating the players are arriving at a deadlock quickly.

Totally in 12 games,the average numbers of moves have been less than thirty,much below the previous two encounters Anand has been involved in. Against Kramnik,Anand played 390 moves in 11 games averaging over 35 moves a game,while versus Topalov it was substantially higher at over 60 moves per game in 12 games lasting 627 moves.

Advantage Anand

As far as records go in rapid chess,Anand has practically won everything,except during the world championships. The Indian was eliminated in the finals of the 1998 world championship by Anatoly Karpov of Russia and in 1994,he lost to Gata Kamsky in the quarterfinals.

Between them,Anand and Gelfand have played 28 times in rapid chess and the Indian has won eight,lost one and drawn the remaining. In blitz,they have played seven games with three wins for Anand and the rest being drawn. Anand remains a favourite but this time,he has been pushed too far.

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According to Vladimir Kramnik,Now for sure well have an incredibly entertaining last day. Maybe for us its not so bad. I think its not a wise decision from Anands side but for us maybe its a good thing that happened.