vishwanathan anand

World Champ!

There are not many days when Indians can go ga-ga over a sportsman reaching the ultimate level of excellence in a sport other than cricket. That’s what makes this day special. The 12 match tussle for the Chess World Championship ended today. 

India's Vishwanathan Anand plays during a tie-break of FIDE World chess championship match against Israel's Boris Gelfand in State Tretyakovsky Gallery in Moscow on May 30, 2012.

World Chess champion Viswanathan Anand from India, contemplates his next move during a match against Boris Gelfand of Israel at the FIDE World Chess Championship tie break match at Moscow's Tretyakovsky State Gallery, Russia, Wednesday, May 30, 2012.

And it ended with a tie-breaker. Playing against Israel’s Boris Gelfand at the Tretyakovsky gallery in Moscow, viewers waited with bated breath : from the viewing gallery, on online forums, and all throughout India, a country which is embracing Chess and other individual sports like never before. 

World Chess champion Viswanathan Anand from India, left, and his Israeli challenger Boris Gelfand, play a FIDE World Chess Championship tie break match at Moscow's Tretyakovsky State Gallery in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, May 30, 2012.

Vishwanathan Anand inspires me each and every time.This is his fifth World Championship title after 2000,2007,2008 and 2010 before. He is one of only six players in the history of the game to break the 2800 mark in the FIDE rating. Following a slow but steady rise through the ranks, Vishy became world no.1 in the April 2007. 

India's Vishwanathan Anand plays during a tie-break of FIDE World chess championship match against Israel's Boris Gelfand in State Tretyakovsky Gallery in Moscow on May 30, 2012.

India’s first grandmaster and an inspiration to everyone who’s become a grandmaster from India since, you make me and every Indian really proud of you Vishy! Hope the crown stays with you for years to come. The king of 64 squares.