Anand And Gelfand Sign Match Contract

No turning back now! World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand and his challenger Boris Gelfand today signed the contact for their match which will take place from 10-31 May 2012, in Moscow.

The prize fund is 2.55 Million US Dollars, mainly provided by the Russian billionaire Andrei Filatov (pictured).  The winner of the 12-game match will receive 60% and the loser 40%.

FIDE president Kirsan Illyumzhinov said "Moscow's bid to host the match was accepted because Russia is a neutral country. Plus, the Russian Chess Federation ensured a purse that was half-a-million dollars larger than any other city's."

Vishy Anand won the FIDE world championship title in the 2007 Mexico tournament, and then defended the title in 2008 by beating the holder of the traditional match title, Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn, Germany.

Anand successfully defended his title in 2010 against Veselin Topalov in Sofia, Bulgaria, and now faces Boris Gelfand in Moscow in 2012.

Video from EugenePotemkin.