Veselin Topalov facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Veselin Topalov
Veselin Topalov, Warsaw 2013
Full name	Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov
Country	Bulgaria
Born	(1975-03-15) 15 March 1975 (age 50) Ruse, Bulgaria
Title	Grandmaster (1992)
World Champion	2005–06 (FIDE)
FIDE rating	2735 (June 2025)
Peak rating	2816 (July 2015)
Ranking	No. 24 (August 2024)
Peak ranking	No. 1 (April 2006)

Veselin Topalov (born March 15, 1975) is a famous Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He was once the FIDE World Chess Champion.

Topalov won the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2005. He lost his title in 2006 to Vladimir Kramnik. Later, he challenged Viswanathan Anand for the World Championship in 2010 but lost. He also won the prestigious Chess Oscar award in 2005.

He was ranked as the world's number one chess player for a long time. His highest rating was 2816 in July 2015. This placed him among the top chess players of all time! Topalov has played in many Chess Olympiads, which are like the Olympics for chess. He won a gold medal in 2014. He also won many big tournaments like Linares and Corus.

Veselin Topalov is married and has two daughters.

Becoming a Chess Star

Early Days in Chess

Veselin Topalov was born in Ruse, Bulgaria. His father taught him how to play chess when he was just eight years old. Veselin quickly showed he was a chess prodigy, meaning he was incredibly talented at a young age.

When he was 12, he started working with Silvio Danailov, who became his manager. This partnership has continued for many years.

In 1989, Topalov won the World Youth Chess Championship for players under 14. The next year, he won a silver medal at the World Under-16 Championship. He became a Grandmaster in 1992. This is the highest title a chess player can get.

Rising Through the Ranks

Topalov played in his first Chess Olympiad in 1994. He led the Bulgarian team to a fourth-place finish. During this event, he even defeated the legendary Garry Kasparov.

Over the next ten years, Topalov became one of the world's top chess players. He played in many strong tournaments. In 1996, he had a great year, tying for first place in several events. He was invited to play against the world's best players.

One of his most famous games was a loss to Garry Kasparov in 1999. Kasparov himself called it one of the greatest games ever played.

In 2001, Topalov won the Dortmund tournament. He also did well in the FIDE World Chess Championship knockout events, reaching the semifinals in 2004. In 2002, he reached the final of the Candidates Tournament but lost to Peter Leko.

Topalov won the Linares tournament in 2005. He tied for first with Garry Kasparov. He even beat Kasparov in the last round, which was Kasparov's final tournament game before retiring. Topalov then won the Mtel Masters tournament. In 2006, he tied for first at Corus with Anand.

FIDE World Chess Champion

Winning the Title in 2005

Because of his high rating, Topalov was invited to the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 in Argentina. This was a special tournament with eight top players. Topalov played incredibly well, scoring 6½ out of 7 points in the first half. He won the tournament easily, becoming the FIDE World Chess Champion. His performance was outstanding!

The 2006 Unification Match

In 2006, FIDE decided to hold a match between Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik. Kramnik was the "Classical" World Champion, and Topalov was the FIDE World Champion. The goal was to unite the two titles into one.

Kramnik won the match, becoming the first undisputed World Champion in 13 years. The match had some disagreements between the teams. The Appeals Committee made some decisions that caused a game to be forfeited. However, the match continued, and Kramnik eventually won.

After the Championship

Continued Success (2006–2010)

Even after losing his title, Topalov continued to be a top player. He defended his M-Tel Masters title in 2006 and won it again in 2007. In 2007, he also tied for first place at the Corus tournament.

In 2008, Topalov won the Bilbao tournament. This victory helped him become the world's number one ranked player again in October 2008. He also won the Pearl Spring event and the Villarobledo Chess Festival.

Topalov earned a spot in a "Challenger Match" to decide who would play for the World Championship again. He played against Gata Kamsky in February 2009 and won. This meant he would challenge the current World Champion.

In 2010, Topalov won the Linares chess tournament.

The 2010 World Championship Match

Topalov played against Viswanathan Anand for the World Chess Championship in 2010. The match was held in Sofia, Bulgaria. Before the match, Anand faced travel problems due to a volcano ash cloud. He had to travel by road for 40 hours to reach Sofia, causing the first game to be delayed.

Topalov won the first game quickly. He used a very sharp opening strategy. It was later shared that he had prepared this strategy with the help of a powerful supercomputer. Anand responded by winning Game 2.

The match was very close, with the score tied at 5½–5½ after 11 games. In the final Game 12, Anand won as Black. Topalov tried to force a win, but Anand played very well and created a strong attack. Topalov resigned, and Anand kept his World Championship title.

World Chess Championship Match 2010

Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
Viswanathan Anand (India)	2787	0	1	½	1	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	1	6½
Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)	2805	1	0	½	0	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	0	5½

As the runner-up, Topalov qualified for the Candidates Matches for the 2012 World Championship. However, he lost in the quarterfinals. Later that year, he won the King's Tournament in Romania.

Top Performances (2013-2015)

In 2013, Topalov played in the FIDE Grand Prix 2012–13 series. He won the Grand Prix event in London in 2012. In April 2013, he won the Renova Grand Prix in Zug, Switzerland. This win helped him return to the top five players in the world.

By doing well in the 2013 Grand Prix in Beijing, he qualified for the 2014 Candidates Tournament. He also played in the Norway Chess Tournament. In September 2013, Topalov played a 6-game match against Viktor Láznička and won 4-2.

In 2014, Topalov competed in the Candidates Tournament in Russia. He also played in the Norway Chess Tournament again. At the 41st Chess Olympiad in Norway, he won a gold medal for his performance on the first board. He also came in third place at the Sinquefield Cup 2014.

In 2015, Topalov came third at the Gibraltar Masters. He also competed in the Grand Chess Tour. He won the Norway Chess 2015 tournament, which earned him many points in the tour. He also played in the Chess World Cup 2015 but was eliminated in the fourth round.

Recent Years (2016-2018)

Topalov participated in the Candidates Tournament in Moscow in 2016. He also played in the Paris Grand Prix and the Leuven leg of the Grand Chess Tour. In April 2018, he played in the Shamkir Chess tournament.

Team Achievements

Topalov has represented Bulgaria at nine Chess Olympiads. He played on the first board, which is usually for the strongest player on the team. He won an individual gold medal in 2014 and had the best overall performance in 1994.

Famous Chess Games

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

After 17 moves, Topalov initiates a series of strong tactical blows with the sacrifice of a knight and a rook.

In 2005, when Topalov won the M-Tel Masters, he played a brilliant game against former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov. Topalov, playing with the white pieces, made some amazing moves.

Topalov vs. Ponomariov, Sofia 2005
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Nc3 0-0 8.Rc1 c6 9.e4 d5 10.e5 (N) Ne4 11.Bd3 Nxc3 12.Rxc3 c5 13.dxc5 bxc5 14.h4 h6 15.Bb1 f5? 16.exf6 Bxf6 17.Qc2! d4 (diagram) 18.Ng5!! hxg5 19.hxg5 dxc3 20.Bf4 Kf7 21.Qg6+ Ke7 22.gxf6+ Rxf6 23.Qxg7+ Rf7 24.Bg5+ Kd6 25.Qxf7 Qxg5 26.Rh7 Qe5+ 27.Kf1 Kc6 28.Qe8+ Kb6 29.Qd8+ Kc6 30.Be4+! 1–0

Images for kids

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  Against Baadur Jobava

See also

In Spanish: Veselin Topalov para niños