New Delhi: Moments after retaining the World Chess Championship title, Viswanathan Anand termed the 12th and the final game against Bulgarian Veselin Topalov as the toughest match of his career.
"It is certainly the toughest match I have ever played. I can't recall another experience like this," Anand said.
"In the morning when I woke up, we had no idea who was going to win because even in the closest match it wasn't like one player was dominating and therefore I knew it was going to come down to the question of whose nerve held up and I am really relieved and glad that it was me," he added.
Anand reckoned Topalov as one of the toughest opponent and said he was finding it difficult to adapt against the Bulgarian.
"Since morning I wasn't thinking about any record. I was thinking just about staying alive. It was a bit difficult to adapt. Definitely, he is an incredibly tough opponent to have prevailed this night. Honestly, I had no idea how it is going to shape up," he said.