Putin meets chess king Anand

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets World Chess champion Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow on Thursday. Photo: AP

Newly-crowned world chess champion Viswanathan Anand and runner-up Boris Gelfand on Thursday met Russian President Vladimir Putin over a cup of tea in his residence.

Anand, who clinched his fifth World championship title yesterday, beating Gelfend in a tie-breaker 2.5-1.5 after their 12-game affair ended in a draw, told that he had learnt chess in a Soviet cultural centre in his hometown when he was a child.

“So we brought this on ourselves!” Mr. Putin said.

Mr. Putin heaped praise on both the players for their “outstanding game.”

This was Anand’s fourth world title in a row. The Indian chess wizard bagged his first world title in 2000 before winning three in a row in 2007, 2008 and 2010. He has been the world champion since 2007.