Career After The 2006 Match
Soon after losing the world title, Topalov participated in the Essent Chess Tournament. He finished third of four players with only 2½ points from 6 games and a 2645 performance. He lost both games against Judit Polgár and one against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
In May 2006, Topalov defended his M-Tel Masters title, coming first with 6½/10, a half point ahead of Gata Kamsky (whom he beat 2–0). Topalov started the tournament somewhat hesitantly to later record four consecutive wins and decisively claim the title.
In January 2007, Topalov finished in joint first place (ahead of Kramnik, who finished 4th) at the Category 19 Corus Chess Tournament along with Levon Aronian and Teimour Radjabov.
In May 2007, Topalov won the M-Tel Masters tournament for a third consecutive time with 5½/10. Topalov clenched the title in a dramatic fashion by just a half point, defeating the then-current leader Sasikiran in the final round.
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. The first round matches of the four-player knockout tournament were won by Topalov over GM Judit Polgár (Hungary) 2½–1½ and Vallejo over GM Alexei Shirov (Spain) 3–1.
In September 2008, Topalov won the Bilbao 2008 tournament. He advanced to first in the world in the unofficial live ratings and in the official October 2008 ratings list.
Read more about this topic: Veselin Topalov
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