Veselin Topalov defeats Garry Kasparov at chess legends tournament

Grandmaster Veselin Topalov staved off a counterthrust by Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov. The Bulgarian won both blitz games to claim the 2026 Clutch Chess: The Legends Chess960 title at the end of the third and final day of the 12-game match, publika.bg reported.

Topalov won the match 16–8. Kasparov put up his bid for a comeback in the match by winning the first rapid game of the day, cutting Topalov’s lead to 8.5–6.5. After a draw in the next game, the first blitz encounter in game 11 was the decisive game of the day. Topalov prevailed in the final minute of the game, reaching 13 points and securing victory in the match with one game still to play, BTA reported.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov

Translated by Kostadin Atanasov