Anand is FIDE world champion

Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand Sunday became world champion defeating Spain's Alexei Shirov in the fourth of the six-game World Chess Championship final in Teharan. Anand had now taken an unbeatable 3.5-0.5 lead.

Opening with a king pawn, Anand played an offensive game right from the start as he needed just one point to seal the world crown.

The Latvia-born Spaniard replied with French defence sacrificing two pieces to bring himself back in the game, but Anand defended well.

After a wild middle-game, Shirov tried his best for a draw but Anand kept probing before the Spanish Grandmaster resigned on the 41st move.

Anand became the first Asian to claim the chess' world title which hitherto was a monopoly of the Russians.