Can Viswanathan Anand land the decisive blow in the final game of the World Chess Championship match against Boris Gelfand just like he did two years ago against Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in Sofia?
With scores tied at 5.5 points each, victory for Anand on Monday will seal the 12-game match in his favour, helping him retain the crown that he won in 2007 in Mexico.
But while uncorking a home preparation in the winner-takes-all final game, the Indian will also have to be cautious as he can't afford to go all out for victory and give Gelfand the advantage by committing mistakes.
Anand will have to be aggressive but cautious at the same time and not press too much for victory. Topalov had done that in the 12th game in 2010 allowing the Indian maestro to exploit the situation and score the match winner.
Black magic
However, Anand has not been able to get much advantage with white pieces except in the third and eighth games as Gelfand has seemed well prepared for the openings he has opted for.
Unless the Indian Grandmaster pulls a rabbit out of his hat on Monday, the two may have to go through tiebreak games of shorter durations on Wednesday. Though in recent times he has not won many big rapid tournaments, Anand is still considered one of the greatest players in the faster version, especially rapid chess.
{{/usCountry}}Unless the Indian Grandmaster pulls a rabbit out of his hat on Monday, the two may have to go through tiebreak games of shorter durations on Wednesday. Though in recent times he has not won many big rapid tournaments, Anand is still considered one of the greatest players in the faster version, especially rapid chess.
{{/usCountry}}In case of a draw in the last game, the players will play four rapid games (25 minutes each) first and then, if necessary, five sets of two blitz games (5 min each) to decide the crown.
In case they are still tied, an Armageddon game will be played with the player with white pieces getting five minutes to four for the one with black pieces. In case of a draw, the player with black pieces wins the title.