Chess:

HE saved the best until last to be an unlikely winner. Boris Gelfand won the final game six against Alexander Grischuk in their Candidates Match Final in Kazan, Russia, and he now earns the right for a shot at the world title.

At the end, Gelfand held his nerve the better as he benefited from Grischuk's unwise decision to play a Grnfeld Defence in the deciding final game.

As the game progressed, it became clear that he was the one who had the better 'feel' for the middle-game complications that ensued, and he soon rolled over his opponent in a contest that turned into a massacre.

Gelfand won 3.5-2.5 with five of the six games being drawn. He was a rank outsider at the start of the Candidates matches – and now he's set to be the official challenger in a world title match.

Belarus-born Israeli Gelfand, 42, is a year older than world champion Vishy Anand, and has never been considered a serious world championship

contender.

Many questioned whether he was too old to mount such a challenge, but Gelfand points out: "(Viktor] Korchnoi played his first World Championship

match when he was 47."

Sadly, despite extensive negotiations in 2009, the World Championship match

between Gelfand and Anand will not be in London. Fide are are still open to negotiations for the venue, but my best guess would be that it is held either in Israel or in another Russian backwater Republic.

B Gelfand - A Grischuk

Candidates Final, (6)

Grnfeld Defence

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nf3 Bg7

4 g3 d5 5 cxd5 Nxd5 6 Bg2

Nb6 7 Nc3 Nc6 8 e3 0–0 9

0–0 Re8 10 Re1 a5 11 Qe2

Bg4 12 h3 Be6 13 b3 a4 14

Rb1 axb3 15 axb3 Qc8 16 Kh2

Ra5 17 Rd1 Rh5 18 Nh4 Bf6

19 f4 Rd8 20 Qf2 Bxh4 21

gxh4 Nd5 22 Nxd5 Rhxd5

23 Bb2 Rb5 24 Qe2! Rh5 25

e4 Bxb3 26 Rdc1 Na5 27 d5

b6 28 Be5 c5 29 dxc6 f6 30

Ba1 Rc5 31 Rxc5 bxc5 32 Qb5

Qc7 33 Rxb3 Nxc6 34 e5

Nd4 35 Qc4+ 1–0