O Dinamismo de VeselinTopalov

VeselinTopalov

VeselinTopalov, Warsaw 2013

Fullname VeselinAleksandrovTopalov

Country Bulgaria

Born 15 March 1975 (age 42)

Ruse, Bulgaria

Title Grandmaster (1992)

World Champion 2005–06 (FIDE)

FIDE rating 2749 (January 2018)

Peak rating 2816 (July 2015)

Ranking No. 15 (October 2017)

Peak ranking No. 1 (April 2006)

VeselinAleksandrovTopalov (pronounced [vɛsɛˈlintoˈpɑlof]; Bulgarian: Весели́н
Александров Топа́лов; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and
former FIDE World Chess Champion.
Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE World Chess
Championship 2005. He lost his title in the World Chess Championship
2006 against Vladimir Kramnik. He challenged Viswanathan Anand at the World Chess
Championship 2010, losing 6½–5½. He won the 2005 Chess Oscar.[1]
He was ranked world number one from April 2006 to January 2007. He regained the top
ranking in October 2008 until January 2010. His peak rating was 2816 in July 2015, placing
him joint-ninth on the list of highest FIDE-rated players of all time.
Topalov has competed at nine Chess Olympiads (1994-2000, 2008-2016), winning board
one gold in 2014 and scoring best overall performance in 1994. He also won
in Linares, Corus, Dortmund, Stavanger and Pearl Spring tournaments.

Early career
Topalov was born in Ruse, Bulgaria. His father taught him to play chess at the age of eight.
Topalov quickly established himself as a chess prodigy. At age 12, Topalov began working
with Silvio Danailov, a relationship that continues today.
In 1989 he won the World Under-14 Championship in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and in 1990
won the silver medal at the World Under-16 Championship in Singapore. He became
a Grandmaster in 1992 and won in Terrassa. He shared first at the Budapest Zonal group B
in 1993 but struggled at the Biel Interzonal, scoring 5.5/13.[2][3] He made his Olympiad debut
in Moscow 1994, leading Bulgaria to a fourth-place, defeating Garry Kasparov on board
one.[4]
Over the next ten yearsTopalov ascended the world chess rankings. He played in Linares
1994 (6½/13), Linares 1995 (8/13), Amsterdam 1995. In a strong run of tournament
performances in 1996 he placed third at Wijkaan Zee, tied for first at Amsterdam, Vienna
and Madrid,[5] won outright at Novgorod and shared first in Dos Hermanas.[6] As early as
1996, he was being invited to events for the world's elite such as Las Palmas (5/10), the
first category 21 tournament, played in December 1996, with Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik
and Karpov participating. The nextyearhewonatAntwerpand Madrid.

Against BaadurJobava

Topalov's loss to reigning Classical World Champion Garry Kasparov at the 1999 Corus
chess tournament is generally hailed as one of the greatest games ever played. Kasparov
later said, "He looked up. Perhaps there was a sign from above that Topalov would play a
great game today. It takes two, you know, to do that."[7]
In 2001, he shared the overall title at Amber Melody and won at Dortmund.
In the knockout tournaments for the FIDE World Chess Championship, he reached the last
16 in 1999, the quarter-finals in 2000, the final 16 in 2001, and the semifinals in the 2004
tournament. In 2002, he lost the final of the Dortmund Candidates Tournament (for the right
to challenge for the rival Classical World Chess Championship) to Peter Leko.
Topalov tied for first at the 2002 NAO Chess Masters in Cannes and won at Benidorm in
2003.[8]
Topalov scored his first major success at Linares 2005, tying for first place with Garry
Kasparov (though losing on tiebreak rules), and defeating Kasparov in the last round, in
what was to be Kasparov's last tournament game before his retirement.[9] He followed this
up with a one-point victory at Mtel Masters. In 2006 he tied for first at Corus with Anand.
Topalov is married and has two daughters[10].

FIDE World Chess Champion

Main articles: FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 and FIDE World Chess
Championship 2006
Based on his rating Topalov was invited to the eight-player, double round-robin FIDE World
Chess Championship in San Luis, Argentina, in September–October 2005. Scoring 6½/7 in
the first cycle, Topalov had virtually clinched the tournament at the halfway mark, before
drawing every game in the second cycle to win by 1½ points to become FIDE World Chess
Champion. The average rating of the field in the championship was 2739, and Topalov's
performance rating was 2890.[11]
On 16 April 2006, FIDE President KirsanIlyumzhinov announced that a match between
Classical and FIDE World Champions Kramnik and Topalovwould be held in September–
October 2006 to re-unify the Championships after thirteen years of separation. Kramnik
defeated Topalov to become the first undisputed champion in thirteen years.
On 28 September 2006, Topalov's manager Silvio Danailov published a press release,
casting suspicion on Kramnik'sbehaviour during the games. The Bulgarian team made a
public statement that Kramnik visited his private bathroom (the only place without any audio
or video surveillance) unreasonably often, about fifty times per game (a number that FIDE
officials later claimed to be exaggerated[12]) and made the most significant decisions in the
game in the bathroom.
They also demanded that the organizers of the tournament allow journalists access to the
surveillance video from Kramnik's room for games 1 through 4. The organizers made parts
of the video available, explaining that other parts of it were missing due to technical issues.
Danailov demanded to stop the use of private restrooms and bathrooms, and threatened to
reconsider Topalov's participation in the match.[13] The Appeals Committee that governed
the match agreed, and ruled that the players' private restrooms should be closed and
replaced with a shared one.
Kramnik refused to play game 5 and was forfeited. On 1 October, the restroom issue was
resolved in Kramnik'sfavour and the Appeals Committee resigned and were replaced. The
FIDE president KirsanIlyumzhinovdecided that the current score of 3–2 should be
preserved. He also indicated that this was not a compromise decision but his own.[14] The
match resumed on 2 October 2006.
On 1 October, the Association of Chess Professionals released a statement denouncing
Danailov for publicly accusing his opponent without evidence, and calling for him to be
investigated by the FIDE Ethics Committee.
On 3 October, Topalov said in a press conference, "I believe that his (Kramnik's) play is
fair, and my decision to continue the match proves it".[15] However the next day the crisis
escalated, with Topalov's manager strongly implying that Kramnik was receiving computer
assistance.[16]
On 14 December 2006, Topalov directly accused Kramnik of using computer assistance in
their World Championship match.[17] On 14 February 2007, Topalov's manager released
pictures, purporting to show cables in the ceiling of a toilet used by Kramnik during the
World Championship match in Elista. They were supposedly reported to the authorities,
who Danailov claims suppressed the information. The Topalov team claims they were
pressured by officials to keep their allegations quiet.[18] On 29 July 2007, following a
complaint by Kramnik's manager Carsten Hensel, the FIDE Ethics Commission sanctioned
Topalov with "a severe reprimand" because of the accusations made in the interview of 14
December. According to the Ethics Commission, "these statements were clearly
defamatory and damaged the honour of Mr. Vladimir Kramnik, harming his personal and
professional reputation".[19]

Career after the 2006 match

Soon after losing the match, Topalov finished third of four players in Essent with only 2½/6,
losing both games against JuditPolgár and one against ShakhriyarMamedyarov.[20]
In May 2006 Topalov defended his M-Tel Masters title, coming first with 6½/10, a half point
ahead of GataKamsky.
In January 2007Topalov finished in joint first place at Corus along
with LevonAronian and TeimourRadjabov.[21]
In May 2007Topalov won the M-Tel Masters tournament for a third consecutive time with
5½/10, defeating then- leader Sasikiran in the final round.[22]
In November 2007Topalov won the Vitoria Gasteiz charity event.[23]
Topalov won the 14th Ciudad Dos Hermanas rapid, 17–21 April 2008, defeating
GM Francisco Vallejo Pons (Spain) 2½–1½ in the final match by winning the first game and
drawing the rest.[24]
In September 2008Topalov won the Bilbao 2008 tournament. He advanced to first in the
world in the official October 2008 ratings list. He also won the Pearl Spring event held in
Nanjing as well as Villarobledo Chess Festival.[25]

2010 World Championship

Topalov lost his chance to compete in the 2007 world championship tournament when he
lost the 2006 reunification match. Danailov expressed a desire for a rematch between
Topalov and Kramnik, proposing a match in March 2007,[26] though no such match took
place. The issue was settled in June 2007 when Topalov and Kramnik were granted special
privileges in the 2008–09 championship cycle.[27] Topalovwas given direct entry to a
"Challenger Match" against the winner of the Chess World Cup 2007.
The 2007 Chess World Cup was won by GataKamsky. The Challenger Match between
Topalov and Kamsky took place in February 2009 in Sofia. Topalov won the match 4½–2½
. The World Chess Championship 2010match was held in Sofia, Bulgaria, which Topalov
lost by 6½–5½ margin.[28]
Topalov won the 2010 Linares chess tournament held in February, defeating Boris
Gelfand in the last round.[29]

Main article: World Chess Championship 2010

VishnwanathanAnand scored an emphatic win over Topalov in the 2010 World Chess
Championship
Before the World Chess Championship 2010 match with VeselinTopalov,
VishwanathanAnand, who had booked on the flight Frankfurt–Sofia on 16 April, was
stranded due to the cancellation of all flights following the volcano ash cloud
from Eyjafjallajökull. Anand asked for a three-day postponement, which the Bulgarian
organisers refused on 19 April. Anand eventually reached Sofia on 20 April, after a 40-hour
road journey.[30]Consequently, the first game was delayed by one day.[31]
The match consisted of 12 games. In Game 1, Topalov quickly defeated Anand in 30
moves, utilizing a very sharp line of attack that broke through Anand's GrunfeldDefence. It
was revealed afterwards that Topalov had found the line during his opening preparation,
with the help of a powerful supercomputer loaned to him by Bulgaria's Defense
Department.[32] Anand quickly responded with a win in Game 2, employing a novelty out of
the Catalan Opening that was not easily recognized by computers at the time (15. Qa3!?,
followed by 16. bxa3!). Anand would win again with the Catalan in Game 4, only to drop
Game 8 and leave the score level once again.[33] After 11 games the score was tied at 5½–
5½. Anand won game 12 on the Black side of a Queen's Gambit Declined to win the game
and the match. Topalov chose to accept a pawn sacrifice by Anand, hoping to force a result
and avoid a rapid chess tiebreak round. But after Topalov's dubious 31st and 32nd moves,
Anand used the sacrifice to obtain a strong attack against Topalov's relatively exposed
king. Topalov subsequently resigned, allowing Anand to retain the World Championship.

World ChessChampionship Match 2010

Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total

2787 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 6½
ViswanathanAnand (India)

2805 1 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 5½
VeselinTopalov (Bulgaria)

As runner-up in the World Chess Championship 2010, Topalov automatically qualified

for the Candidates Matches for the World Chess Championship 2012, where he was
the top seed. However, he lost to newly crowned U.S. champion GataKamsky in the
quarterfinals. Later that year he won the King's Tournament in Romania.

2013

 Topalov competed in the FIDE Grand Prix 2012–13. Having won in London's Grand
Prix event in 2012, in April 2013, he won the 2013 Renova Grand Prix in Zug, 1.5
points ahead of second-place Hikaru Nakamura. This marked his comeback as
one of the top five players in the world, as this victory propelled him to the fourth
place on the FIDE rating list.
 By scoring 100 points in the 2013 Grand Prix in Beijing, he guaranteed himself a
first-place finish with one tournament to spare, thus qualifying for the 2014
Candidates Tournament.[34]
 Topalov played in the 2013 edition of the Norway Chess Tournament. He placed
8th with 4 out of 9 possible points +0-1=8.
 From September 18 to 25, 2013, Topalov played a 6-game match with Viktor
Láznička. Time control was 40/90 + G/30 with 30 seconds increment per move.
Topalov won the match 4-2.

2014

 Topalov competed at the Candidates Tournament 2014 in Khanty-Mansiysk,

Russia. He finished in last place, scoring +2-4=7.
 Topalov played in the 2014 edition of the Norway Chess Tournament. He placed
5th with 4.5 out of 9 possible points.
 Topalov played in the 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromsø, where he won the gold
medal on board one, with the second best overall tournament performance of
2872.[35]
 In August–September 2014, Topalov played in the Sinquefield Cup 2014, where he
came in 3rd place behind winner Fabiano Caruana and runner-up Magnus Carlsen.
 Topalov participated in the 2014 European Club Cup in mid-September 2014.

2015

 Topalov came third at the Gibraltar Masters.

 Topalov competed in the 2015 Grand Chess Tour, consisting of Norway Chess,
the Sinquefield Cup, and the London Chess Classic. At Norway Chess 2015,
Topalov won clear first place with 6.5/9, earning him 13 Grand Chess Tour points.
He scored +5-1=3. At the 2015 Sinquefield Cup, Topalov finished in a tie for sixth
place with a score of +2-2=5.[36] In the London Chess Classic in December 2015,
he came in last, scoring +0-4=5.
 He played in the Chess World Cup 2015 in Baku, Azerbaijan as the top seed. He
was eliminated by Peter Svidler in the fourth round.

2016

 VeselinTopalov participated in the Candidates Tournament, held in Moscow,

Russia from March 10–30, 2016, as a rating qualifier. Topalovfinished in lastplace,
losing 5 games (+0-5=9).
 Topalov participated in the Paris Grand Prix, part of the Grand Prix cycle.
Topalovscored 12/36 for ninthplace.
 Topalov participated in the Leuven leg of the 2016 Grand Chess Tour. Topalov
scored 14/36 points, which placed him in 10th place in the tournament.