World chess champions Veselin Topalov and Garry Kasparov meet in match in USA

Two world chess champions will open a new chapter in their legendary rivalry. Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov and Baku-born Garry Kasparov will take part in an exhibition match in the U.S. city of St. Louis. The match will begin on September 11, and over three days the two will play twelve games of Chess960, also known as “Fischer Random Chess,” named after its creator, Bobby Fischer.

In this variation of classical chess, the pieces on the first rank are arranged randomly in order to eliminate the advantage of memorized opening lines and require creative thinking from the very first move. The grandmasters will play four games per day - two rapid games (25 minutes + 10 seconds per move) and two blitz games (5 minutes + 2 seconds per move).

The last game Garry Kasparov played, in 2005, was at the Linares tournament, against the Bulgarian chess player. Veselin Topalov defeated his opponent on that occasion. The two also met in an exhibition match in St. Louis in 2018, with the Bulgarian winning again.

Edited by Diana Tsankova