MTel Masters Starts Wed
The MTel Masters supertournament in Sofia, Bulgaria, is now well-established and this year celebrates it's fifth edition, starting May 13 and running until May 23. It has also been an innovative event, introducing the soundproof glass cage for players, the "Aquarium" last year.
After winning the first 3 MTel competitions, Veselin Topalov was dethroned last year by a red-hot Vassily Ivanchuk. Chucky's form has been less impressive lately, but he is back to defend his title against Topalov and a very strong field full of dynamic players.
| Veselin Topalov | BUL | 2812 |
| Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2770 |
| Vassily Ivanchuk | UKR | 2746 |
| Alexei Shirov |
ESP | 2745 |
| Wang Yue |
CHN | 2738 |
| Leinier Dominguez |
CUB | 2721 |
Supermodel Carmen Kass (pictured) will be opening the tournament and will be drawing lots to decide the pairings for the first round. Besides being a supermodel, Kass is also a very keen chess player and is president of the Estonian Chess Federation. Brains and beauty!
As usual, the format is a double-round robin. Last year Ivanchuk ran away from everyone with a magnificent 8/10 score. Will anyone come close to that performance this year? Good luck to everyone, and lets see some great chess!
The offical website can be found here.
