At present, he is the 23th-ranked player in the world.

He was World Chess Champion of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), a title he won at a tournament held in San Luis, Argentina between September and October 2005. The tournament pitted the top seven in the world rankings against each other.

On 24 April 2006, it was announced that Topalov would put his title on the line in a match against Kramnik. The match was agreed for twelve games and, in case of a draw, four more rapid games and took place in Elista, Kalmukia, Russia.

Topalov lost the World title in the final tie-break game to Kramnik in a contest marked by controversy and multiple accusations from both sides.

In February 2009, Topalov defeated Gata Kamsky in Sofia. With this victory, Topalov earned the right to challenge World Champion Viswanathan Anand for the top title.

In 2010, Topalov won the “Ciudad de Linares” International chess tournament, along with León and Bilbao the three traditional world elite tournaments in Spain.

Topalov has participated 6 times in the Magistral of León, winning it in 1997.

WORLD RUNNER-UP IN 2010
Topalov played as a challenger in the 2010 World Chess Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria. The champion Anand won by a score of 6.5 to 5.5.

He is currently the 23th player in the FIDE world ranking and continues to offer fans games full of brilliant and aggressive chess.