I am too tensed to be happy but really relieved: Viswanathan Anand

May 31, 2012 |

New Delhi

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Defending champion Viswanathan Anand, who clinched his fifth World Championship title at Moscow on Wednesday, said he is really relieved to achieve the milestone after an incredibly tense battle with challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel.

"I am too tensed to be happy but really relieved," said Anand after wining two of the four rapid chess games to win the tie-break with a 2.5-1.5 margin.

"It was incredibly tensed. Well, when I woke up this morning, I knew it would end one way or the other but didn't know how it will go. Match was so even that I had no sense of what shape the tie-break would take. I think that right now, the only feeling you have is relief.

The 42-year-old Anand, who has given a fillip to the game in India as brand ambassador of IT company NIIT, said he was a little tensed going into the tie-breaker.

"Given the fact that we drew 12 games and it was decided by tie-breakers is a reasonable situation. After such a long and tough match probably it was the only thing that could have seperated us. I was too tensed," he said.

"In the fourth game, I knew I shouldn't play too hard for a draw but somehow at the board I started to do exactly that. I was pretty happy when my rooks were doubled. He had a lot of chances in the third and fourth game but things want my way in the end and I can say I won only because I won," he added.

Anand's wife Aruna was also ecstatic at his achievement and said: "It is a happy moment, it was very tough. It went down to the tie-breaker and even today it was going to and froth, in the end it went our way and I am happy about it.

"There was no clear indication. We didn't anticipate anything. You can't be prepared for such scheme of things to happen. It went all the way to the tie-breaker and that showed the preparation of both the teams."

Anand and Gelfand had drawn the final regular match in their 12-game Moscow series to leave the world championships level. Anand had earlier won the world chess championship in 2000, 2007, 2008 and 2010.

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