Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov Retains Leadership Position in Grand Chess Tour

Bulgaria's chess grandmaster Veselin Topalov retained the leadership position in the Grand Chess Tour and tops the current standing despite finishing seventh in the Sinquefield Cup.

Topalov is unchallenged at the top with 17 points, followed by Hikaru Nakamura from the US with 16 points and the Armenian Levon Aronian with 15 points.

The Grand Chess Tour comprises three of the most prestigious tournaments - Norway Chess, Sinquefield Cup and London Chess Classic.

The Bulgarian won Norway Chess earlier in June and started promisingly at the Sinquefield Cup after recording two consecutive victories.

However his performance dropped and in the next seven games, Topalov recorded two defeats and five draws, finishing seventh with 4.5 points.

Nevertheless, the Bulgarian managed to defeat the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen from Norway both at Norway Chess and at the Sinquefield Cup.

The third decisive tournament - the London Chess Classic will take place between December 3 and 10, daily Dnevnik informs.