On This Day in Chess History: May 30, 2012

Viswanathan Anand successfully defends his title as Wold Chess Champion for the 5th time against Boris Gelfand of Israel. After a grueling 12 games, the championship match went into tie-breaks as both competitors clawed their way to 6 points each. As the match entered a rapid game play-off of best of 4, the opponents drew once again maintaining their tie. It was with a win in the second rapid game that Anand finally pulled ahead, drawing the next two games. Anand squeaked a finish with a one point lead in the play-off to maintain his title for what would prove to be his final year.