Anand during a media conference, in Moscow, on Thursday. (AP)

Moscow: Opening preparation holds the key as Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand get ready for the World Chess Championship Match, which begins here, on Friday.

At the picturesque State Tretyakov Gallery, here, on Thursday, Fide president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov formally inaugurated the face-off in the presence of the reigning world champion and Gelfand.

If one goes by the present world No. 4’s previous two title matches — against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008 and Veselin Topalov two years later — it was Anand’s opening preparation which gave him the upper hand. It also showcased his tactical prowess and defensive abilities.

Surprising Kramnik with the dynamic Meran Variation of the Slav in 2008, he scored two important wins with black pieces in the third and fifth games, a feat unheard at these level.

In 2010, his choice of employing the Catalan Opening with white pieces and defending with the Elista Variation of the Semi-Slav Defence almost tilted the balance in his favour.

Someone with a very large opening repertoire, it will be very difficult to predict Anand’s choices in this match, though dynamic systems will surely get the preference.

Gelfand’s strength is his solid opening choices, especially with the black pieces. His reliance on the Berlin Variation of the Ruy Lopez and Nimzo Indian Defence with black pieces makes him a very hard player to crack, though it leaves him completely dependant on white pieces to score his wins.

Anand, one of the finest natural talents to play chess, has a keen eye for tactical play.

He is also the only world champion who has won his title in all formats of the game — knockout, tournament play and match play.

Gelfand is one of the last typical products of the old Soviet chess school, being educated in the basics of the game in traditional Russian methods.

He is a classical player, who almost never takes any risks with black pieces and concentrates on equalising the game. With white pieces, he aims for active positional games, where his flawless play and depth of strategic play are his strengths.

Motivation is bound to be the best factor working for him in this match.

In classical chess, Anand and Gelfand have played a total of 37 games against each other since 1989. Anand have won six times, lost five and drew 26. But the interesting part is, since 1998, Anand have won only once. And that was in 2006.

The ‘Moscow Mindgame’ will be played over 12 games, spread over a total 20 days, with the winner being the first one to score 6.5 points or more.

If the scores are tied after 12 games, a series of rapid chess games with faster time controls will be played to determine the winner.

The winner will be richer by $1.53 million, while the loser will get $ 1.02 million.