Viswanathan Anand may have scored a facile win over Vladimir Kramnik to claim the world championship in 2008 but his next opponent for the title is likely to pose a more serious threat to the Indian Grandmaster. On current form alone, the Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov will be a tougher nut to crack than Kramnik. Topalov has earned the right to challenge Anand for the world championship title after beating Gata Kamsky of USA in a thrilling eight-game match by a 4.5-2.5 scoreline.

Speaking about the match against Kamsky, Topalov said it was extremely tough. "(It was) a very tough match with many hard games. Gata played well but in Game 2 got into heavy time trouble. My goal was to take risks in order to apply pressure but not to offer too many chances," the Bulgarian revealed.

Kamsky had reached the final of the world championship in 1996 at the age of 22. He stopped playing chess from 1997 to 2005). Over the past four years, Topalov has been in great form, winning some of the most prestigious titles, including Linares, Corus, M-Tel Masters and some well-known rapid tournaments. It is, therefore, not surprising that the 33-year-old Bulgarian is the world No.1 player with an Elo rating of 2796 (Anand is 2nd at 2791).

Topalov's dominance was perhaps best seen in the 2005 world chess championship in San Luis, Argentina, where he demolished the field consisting of Anand, Svidler, Leko, Morozevich, Kasimdzhanov, Adams and Polgar. In the first seven games, he scored an astonishing six wins and a draw.

Perhaps, the only blemish in the last four years came in 2006 when he lost the unified world championship match to Vladimir Kramnik in controversial circumstances. By losing the title match, Topalov missed out on a chance to be a part of the 2007 world championship which was held in Mexico City.

With the Topalov-Anand match likely to be held this autumn, the Indian maestro can hardly afford to stay relaxed. The year hasn't began on a note for him as he is struggling in the current Linares tournament.

END GAME

Game Topalov Kamsky Score

First 0.5 0.5 0.5-0.5

Second 1 0 1.5-0.5

Third 0.5 0.5 2-1

Fourth 0 1 2-2

Fifth 1 0 3-2

Sixth 0.5 0.5 3.5-2.5

Seventh 1 0 4.5-2.5