World Chess Championship 2012

World Chess Championship 2012
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia
11–30 May 2012
 
Defending champion
Challenger
 
Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan Anand
Boris Gelfand
Boris Gelfand
  India Viswanathan Anand Israel Boris Gelfand
 
6 (2½)Scores6 (1½)
Game 1½24 move draw½
Game 2½25 move draw½
Game 3½37 move draw½
Game 4½34 move draw½
Game 5½27 move draw½
Game 6½29 move draw½
Game 7038 moves 1
Game 81 17 moves0
Game 9½49 move draw½
Game 10½25 move draw½
Game 11½24 move draw½
Game 12½22 move draw½
Tie break 13½32 move draw½
Tie break 141 77 moves0
Tie break 15½59 move draw½
Tie break 16½56 move draw½
  Born 11 December 1969
42 years old
Born 24 June 1968
43 years old
  Winner of the World Chess Championship 2010 Winner of the Candidates Tournament 2011
  Rating: 2791
(World No. 4)
Rating: 2727
(World No. 20)
← 2010
2013 →

The World Chess Championship 2012 was a chess match between the defending World Champion Viswanathan Anand of India and Boris Gelfand of Israel, winner of the 2011 Candidates Tournament.[1] After sixteen games, including four rapid games, Anand retained his title.[2] The match, held under the auspices of the World Chess Federation FIDE, took place between 10 and 31 May 2012 in the Engineering Building of the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.[3] The prize fund was US$2.55 million.[4]

Anand was the defending champion, having gained the title in 2007 and defended it in 2008 (against Vladimir Kramnik) and in 2010 (against Veselin Topalov). Boris Gelfand became the challenger after winning the eight-player Candidates Tournament in May 2011. Anand's subsequent victory, therefore, was his third consecutive title defence.[5]

The match conditions called for twelve games to be played with classical time control. If a player scored at least 6½ points, he would be declared the winner and the match ended. By the end of the twelve games, however, the match was tied at 6 points each, so four rapid games were played in order to produce a result. Anand won the rapid-game playoff with a win in the second game and draws in the other three games.

  1. ^ "FIDE Candidates Finals: Gelfand wins right to challenge Anand in 2012!". chessbase.com. 25 May 2011.
  2. ^ Williams, Stuart (30 May 2012). "India's Anand keeps world chess title after shootout". Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  3. ^ "FIDE to receive 10–12 million Euros for upcoming cycles". Chess News. chessbase.com. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Moscow wins bid to host 2012 World Championship". WhyChess. 8 August 2011. Archived from the original on 28 August 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  5. ^ Stephen Moss (30 May 2012). "Anand remains king of world chess as Gelfand's time runs out | Sport". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 31 May 2012.