(In Chess King diagram on left: The crucial 31. ...e4 that led Anand to a World Chess Championship victory against Topalov in 2010. Replay the game at the end of this post.)
Defending world chess champion Viswanathan Anand will have White in Monday's last game. He had won with Black against Topalov in 2010! The scores in the Anand, Gelfand match are tied at 5.5-5.5 after 11 games. But, Gelfand has proven to be much tougher than Topalov. In the 2012 world chess match, both the challenger and the champion have already shared one victory each. Should Game 12 also end in a draw tiebreak games of shorter duration will be played to determine the winner.
In case of a draw in the last game, the players will play four rapid games first and then, if necessary, five sets of two blitz games to decide the crown. An Armageddon game is the last possibility. Gelfand is not too bothered about Anand's expertise at shorter versions of the game. "I would say that with all his results Vishy has proved that he is one of the best, or maybe the best at all-time controls. Look at his record — otherwise he wouldn't have been world champion for so many years," he said.
Meanwhile, "Israelis are indeed showing their pride and support for Gelfand. Many hardcore chess fans have come to Moscow to see the match in person, as opposed to following it online like tens of thousands of others are doing," reported daily Ha`aretz, as the championship is generating more and more interest in the Israeli public.
Several Israelis arrived in the Russian capital a few days before the match started. Even though lodging in one of the world`s most expensive cities requires both daring and deep pockets, many continue to follow as the match enters the final stages.
"And those aren`t even the bulk of Gelfand`s supporters, who are expected to arrive. That group includes several high-ranking chess players and a fair number of amateurs, who decided to combine a tour of Moscow`s countless historical sites with the final stage of the match," the report added.
A lot of these amateur and professional chess players have gathered in the centre of Israel to watch the match.
"Of course, the chess players are excited about this," Yoav Nissenbaum, a member of the Israel Chess Federation said, adding, "This is the first time that an Israeli has made it to the world championship." Ido Ben Artzi, a 17-year-old grandmaster, says that he hardly misses a single move in the match.
"I try to get home in time. I go over the game and see what I think of every single move, without relying on the commentary for help. That`s how I put myself in the players` places," he said. Replay the last 2010 Topalov-Anand World Chess Championship Game in our Chess King applet.
