Topalov with trophy - Chess.FM video interview with Anand's challenger

After the awards ceremony of the Challenger's Match in Sofia, winner Veselin Topalov talked to Chess.FM’s Macauley Peterson, before leaving the National Palace of Culture for the last time. In a video interview, Topalov speaks about the match against Kamsky but he als looks ahead to a match with World Champion Anand, the details of which remain to be worked out.

Veselin Topalov did not disappoint his fans and his country over the past two weeks as he emerged with the match win over Gata Kamsky, in Sofia.

It was not the smoothest performance, but Topalov applied pressure to Kamsky at key moments and exploited his opportunities when they came.

Topalov is now looking ahead to a match with World Champion Anand, the details of which remain to be worked out. Topalov was is critical of the planned FIDE candidates tournament for the next world championship cycle, and hopes that FIDE will focus instead on the organization of his own challenge to Anand.

Responding to critics of his inclusion in the current cycle at all, Topalov said he realizes that he was, in effect, given a “privilege,” but, echoing a view expressed by FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos at the closing ceremony, he regards it as “compensation” for FIDE’s changes to the World Championship following the match with Kramnik in 2006. He stated categorically that he expects no more such privileges.

After the awards ceremony, Topalov talked to Chess.FM’s Macauley Peterson, before leaving the National Palace of Culture for the last time.




This interview originally appeared at the Chess.FM blog and was cross-posted with permission. There's also an interview with Gata Kamsky (audio only) there - also highly recommended.