BULGARIA'S top chess player, Veselin Topalov, won the M-Tel Masters Super Tournament, held from May 11 to 22 in Sofia.
In his final game on Sunday, he defeated Vladimir Kramnik in the 10th round on the 34th move, although the Russian had the advantage of playing with the white pieces.
Topalov earned a total of 6.5 points, finishing with four victories, five draws, and just one defeat. Following his success in Sofia, the Bulgarian officially claimed first place in the ranking of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), becoming the first Bulgarian in the history of the game to achieve this.
Indian Viswanathan Anand was the leader of this ranking before the M-Tel Masters tournament. Earlier on Sunday, he managed only a draw against Judit Polgar from Hungary, the only woman taking part in the competition.
"I followed Anand's game closely. At one point he had quite an advantage, but Polgar defended herself very well under the circumstances, and managed to snatch a draw. After this result, I knew I needed only a draw in my last game in order to win the tournament," said Topalov.
"I found myself in a good position against Kramnik. Then he tried to attack me and I believe that, at this point of the game, it was an unjustified risk on his part. He made a major mistake right after that and that allowed me the victory," Topalov said of his last game against Kramnik.
"This tournament was a general rehearsal for me before the World Championship in Argentina at the end of September and the beginning of October. I believe this tournament will be even stronger than the "M-Tel Masters" in Sofia," Topalov said.
M-Tel Masters final standings:

1. Topalov, Veselin BUL 6.5
2. Anand, Viswanathan IND 5.5
3. Ponomariov, Ruslan UKR 5
Polgar, Judith HUN 5
5. Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 4
Adams, Michael ENG 4