Chennai: Viswanathan Anand’s reign is over and Magnus Carlsen, the prince of world chess, is the new king.

In Chennai, on Thursday, Carlsen emerged as the world champion when he drew the 10th game with white pieces against the five-time world champion. The final score read 6.5–3.5.

“When it rains it pours!” was how Anand summed up his play in the World Championship. He described the last game as a ‘microcosm’ of his play in the whole match. “I was just trying to keep playing, but at some point, made mistakes,” he said.

Carlsen and Anand played out their roles of being modest in victory and graceful in defeat to perfection. They handled their new roles with copybook poise.

As Carlsen expressed his gratitude for being able to play a legend like Anand who was “world champion for so many years”, Anand congratulated Carlsen for his “thoroughly deserving victory”.

Understandably, the large number of Norwegian media, Carlsen’s family and well-wishers were jubilant. They hailed the victory as one of the greatest-ever achievement by any sportsman from the Nordic country.

The popularity for the match in Norway can be gauged from the fact that, Norway’s biggest banking institution, DNB, had to bar its employees from following the live coverage of the 12-game World Championship broadcast. Reason? It had clogged the network!

Indian Grandmaster RB Ramesh echoed the feelings of the chess players when he remarked: “Today, we Indians, share Anand’s thoughts and sorrow. He has given us so much joy over the years… He will always remain our hero!”

At the post-match media conference, Anand refused to divulge his future plans.

He was not clear about his participation in the Candidates Tournament in February-March 2014 in Russia, which will give him the to right to play another match against Carlsen.

“I am not looking so far ahead,” said Anand. “Now I will take rest, find out what I did not achieve in the match”, said Anand.

In Carlsen, we are probably seeing a new breed of world champions, who not only want to finish the job, but always strive go that extra mile.

They put pressure on the opponent in any kind of position, thus extract the maximum out of that. They not just settle for a draw, which will give him the world crown, but a point more on the scoreboard!

Though he needed just a draw on Friday, the 22-year-old went for the jugular.

If this is going to be his way of playing, we are probably looking at a new champion who will be not just satisfied with breaking Garry Kasparov’s rating record of 2851.

The next milestone of 2900 or even beyond looks very much possible right now for a player of Carlsen’s ability and willpower.

The much-awaited Sicilian Defence finally made its appearance in the 10th game, but Carlsen adopted a dry system, sidestepping Anand’s preparation.

Curiously the game followed their own encounter from the Sandes Masters, Norway in May 2013, from Rossolimo Variation. The game looked like a classic case of white not wishing to do anything and consistently exchanging pieces, and black not being able to cross the line of safety and taking risks.

But when Anand repeated moves on the 21st, Carlsen refused to toe the line, preferring to vary and thus making his intentions clearer. Anand, realised he was facing another game of long defence.

Carlsen’s first sense of aggression came with 23.Rc3 signalling that he was going to harass Anand’s straying queen, and pressurise the weak pawn on d6. French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave termed the position after black’s 27…Rd7 as ‘not so easy for black’, and Anand indeed looked under pressure.

“As long as there is no risk, I should try to win”, avowed Carlsen later on.

Both the players were featured in a double-blunder in the middle game.

“I simply blundered 28…Qg5. I saw the same tactic after 28…Qc5, but put the queen on g5 instead, and the same 29.e5 happened,” Anand admitted. But it was white’s turn to miss the strong 30.Nc3, counter blundering with 30…ed6.

The resultant knight ending still ‘was very dangerous’, admitted Anand.

Tension was palpable in the face of Carlsen’s mentor since childhood, the Norwegian football national team player and Grandmaster Simen Agdestein.

Agdestein has been with his ward for the past couple of days. At 41.Ne3, Agdestein even got excited and remarked: “I think Carlsen might win!”

Just when the game appeared to be heading for a draw, Carlsen surprised Anand with 46.Ng8, leading to the sacrifice of a piece for three pawns.

This resulted in an unusual endgame of Anand’s queen and knight against Carlsen’s queen and three pawns. However, the game ended on the 66th move with just both the kings remaining on the board, mark of an unyielding fight.

Carlsen summed up the best, “I think it was a nice fight and a worthy end to the match”.

Carlsen won $1.53 million, while Anand will receive $1.02.