Moscow: India's five-time World Chess Champion Vishwanathan Anand says he was too tense to be happy after he won the title for the fifth time beating Israeli challenger Boris Gelfand in the tie-breaker here Tuesday.

"Game one was a tense start. It was a long and tough match. The match was very intense, I am relieved. I was better for most part in the second game. It was a back and forth game," Anand told reporters after winning his third straight title at the renowned State Tretyakov Gallery.

Anand beat Gelfand 2.5-1.5 in the four-match tie breaker.

The tournament went into the tie-breaker after Anand and Gelfand drew the 12th game, Monday. They were tied 6-6 after the final round.

Anand went ahead in the tie-breaker after winning the second game in 77 moves following a draw in the first. The first game ended in a draw in 33 moves. The remaining two games ended in draws.

Anand admitted that Gelfand was a tough competitor.

"I am too tense to be happy, right now now I am relieved. Gelfand was playing well, the match was very even," he said.

The 42-year-old Indian said losing the seventh game had put him on the back-foot and he felt fortunate to defend the crown.

"It was a huge blow for me to lose the seventh game. It was very critical moment for me. I was extremely fortunate that I was able to come back the next day. Given that we drew our first 12 games, deciding the match by tie-break is quite a reasonable situation," he said. (IANS)