Nice to know I can wake up as World Champion: Viswanathan Anand

Sofia, Bulgaria: World champion Viswanathan Anand on Tuesday retained his crown winning the World Chess Championship title by wrapping up the final game against Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.

Anand achieved an improbable win playing with black in the final game to retain the world title by 6.5-5.5 margin after the end of the 12th and final game here. (Congratulate Viswanathan Anand)

Speaking to NDTV after the win, an elated Anand said: "Nice to know I can wake up as World Champion." (Watch)

Experts over the world had predicted that Topalov, at his worst, will draw the last game under normal time control and then the match will be headed in to the rapid tiebreaker. (Video: Anand's jubilant parents)

However, it was not to be as Topalov, trying to look for complications, went haywire in a slightly difficult position and could not recover as Anand kept dealing one lethal blow after another to notch up his fourth world title in 11 years to remain the undisputed king of the game once again. (Profile: Viswanathan Anand)

But Anand refused to play down his opponent's strength. "Topalov is one of the grittiest opponents," Anand said. (Pics: Anand's glorious journey)

The four-time World Champion, who hopes to return to India in a week's time, gave away his secret to relaxation. "Watching Lord of the Rings helped me relax," he said.

Earlier, in 2008 Anand had won the world title in a match against Russian Vladimir Kramnik, in 2006 he had won the world championship match tournament ahead of almost all top players in the world and in the year 2000 he had won the championship when it was held on a knockout basis.

Anand, thus became the first official world champion in recent history to win two back-to-back matches in world championships against different opponents.

Vladimir Kramnik can also lay his claims for that but for the fact that the match he won against Garry Kasparov in 2000 was not played under the official FIDE flag.

If the last game was any indication, Anand had indeed reserved his best as he knew Topalov will go all out for a win.

The reason for Topalov's unwarranted aggression was probably based on the fact that Anand is by far regarded as the best rapid chess player in history and Topalov does not have any great reputation in the faster version of the game.

Naturally, the Bulgaria wanted to avoid the tiebreaker.

Anand came up with another opening surprise as he went back to the basics. The Queen's Gambit declined as black has a solid reputation and it stood up for Anand's quest as the Indian ace went for the rock-solid Lasker variation.

Topalov, tried to create complications earlier but when the game headed towards a perfect balance, the Bulgarian lost his cool. The decisive moment of the game came on the 32nd move when Topalov simply lost his cool and blundered.

What followed was a feast for the Indian as he could attack the white king at will. All Anand's pieces, joined the party and threats of checkmate loomed large on Topalov. For once the support of the home crowd did not matter too.

Anand, apparently, made a mistake on the infamous 40th move but his position was so commanding that it did not spoil his game. Topalov fought on for sometime before giving up as the Indian won in 56 moves.

(With PTI inputs)

Anand's Achievements