M-Tel Masters
# M-Tel Masters

Mtel Masters was an annual super-GM chess tournament held between 2005 and 2009 in Sofia, Bulgaria, sponsored and organized by the Bulgarian mobile network operator, M-Tel. The tournament was held as a double round-robin at the five-star Grand Hotel Sofia.

## Tournament winners

M-Tel Masters Sofia :

| № | Date | Category | Average FIDE Rating | Winner | Score | TPR |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 11–22 May 2005 | XX | 2747 | Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) | 6½ / 10 | 2850 |
| 2 | 10–21 May 2006 | XX | 2745 | Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) | 6½ / 10 | 2842 |
| 3 | 9–20 May 2007 | XIX | 2725 | Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) | 5½ / 10 | 2751 |
| 4 | 8–18 May 2008 | XX | 2738 | Vasyl Ivanchuk (Ukraine) | 8 / 10 | 2977 |
| 5 | 12–23 May 2009 | XXI | 2755 | Alexei Shirov (Spain) | 6½ / 10 | 2867 |

## Editions

### 2005

The first edition of the tournament took place between 11 and 22 May 2005 as part of M-Tel's tenth anniversary celebrations and with the participation of top chess players such as Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov, Vladimir Kramnik, Michael Adams, Judit Polgár and Ruslan Ponomariov. M-Tel Masters 2005 was classified in FIDE's Category 20 and was named the strongest tournament of 2005 according to the average Elo rating of the participants of 2744. The winner of the tournament was the Bulgarian Veselin Topalov, with the award being conferred by President Georgi Parvanov.

    1st M-Tel Masters, 12–22 May 2005, Sofia, Bulgaria, Category XX (2747) PlayerRating123456PointsTPR 1 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) 2778½ 1½ ½0 1½ 1½ 16½2850 2 Viswanathan Anand (India)2785½ 0Does not appear½ ½½ ½½ 1½ 15½2775 3 Judit Polgár (Hungary)2732½ ½½ ½Does not appear½ ½0 ½½ 152749 4 Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine)26951 0½ ½½ ½Does not appear0 1½ ½52757 5 Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)2753½ 0½ 01 ½1 0Does not appear0 ½42673 6 Michael Adams (England)2737½ 0½ 0½ 0½ ½1 ½Does not appear42676

### 2006

The 2006 tournament took place between 10 May and 21 May and was attended by Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand, Ruslan Ponomariov, Peter Svidler, Étienne Bacrot and Gata Kamsky. Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho played the token initial move of the 2006 tournament, which was officially opened by the President of Bulgaria, Georgi Parvanov.

Topalov won the tournament for the second time after a decisive comeback from a somewhat hesitant start. He recorded four consecutive wins in the final rounds to clinch the M-Tel Masters 2006 first place with 6½ points, also defeating his main rival Gata Kamsky in the penultimate round.

    2nd M-Tel Masters, 11–21 May 2006, Sofia, Bulgaria, Category XX (2745) PlayerRating123456PointsWinsTPR 1 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) 28041 10 1½ 0½ 1½ 16½2842 2 Gata Kamsky (United States)26710 0Does not appear1 ½1 ½½ 11 ½62831 3 Viswanathan Anand (India)28031 00 ½Does not appear½ ½1 ½1 ½5½2768 4 Peter Svidler (Russia)2743½ 10 ½½ ½Does not appear1 0½ ½52744 5 Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine)2738½ 0½ 00 ½0 1Does not appear½ ½3½12635 6 Étienne Bacrot (France)2708½ 00 ½0 ½½ ½½ ½Does not appear3½02641

### 2007

M-Tel Masters' 2007 edition was held between 9 May and 20 May and featured Veselin Topalov, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Gata Kamsky, Michael Adams and Krishnan Sasikiran. Topalov won the tournament for a third consecutive time in a dramatic fashion, defeating the then-current leader Sasikiran in the final round.

    3rd M-Tel Masters, 10–20 May 2007, Sofia, Bulgaria, Category XIX (2725) PlayerRating123456PointsWinsH2HSBMovesTPR 1 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) 27721 10 ½½ ½0 1½ ½5½2751 2 Krishnan Sasikiran (India)26900 0Does not appear½ 11 0½ ½½ 1532732 3 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)27571 ½½ 0Does not appear1 0½ ½½ ½52225.252718 4 Gata Kamsky (United States)2705½ ½0 10 1Does not appear½ ½½ ½52225.005472729 5 Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (Romania)26931 0½ ½½ ½½ ½Does not appear0 152225.004192731 6 Michael Adams (England)2734½ ½½ 0½ ½½ ½1 0Does not appear4½2687

### 2008

The 2008 M-Tel Masters was held 8–18 May. Vasyl Ivanchuk won by a wide margin. Ivanchuk won his first five games, lost no games, and had a positive score against every other player. Veselin Topalov, who had won the tournament the three previous years, was second.

    4th M-Tel Masters, 8–18 May 2008, Sofia, Bulgaria, Category XX (2738) PlayerRating123456PointsTPR 1 Vasyl Ivanchuk (Ukraine) 27401 ½1 ½1 11 ½1 ½82977 2 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)27670 ½Does not appear½ ½1 11 01 16½2841 3 Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan)27510 ½½ ½Does not appear½ ½½ 1½ 15½2771 4 Ivan Cheparinov (Bulgaria)26950 00 0½ ½Does not appear1 1½ ½42674 5 Bu Xiangzhi (China)27080 ½0 1½ 00 0Does not appear½ ½32594 6 Levon Aronian (Armenia)27630 ½0 0½ 0½ ½½ ½Does not appear32583

### 2009

The 2009 edition of the tournament took place from 12 to 23 May. Besides regular feature Veselin Topalov, the participating grandmasters were Magnus Carlsen, Vasyl Ivanchuk, Alexei Shirov, Wang Yue and Leinier Domínguez.

    5th M-Tel Masters, 13–23 May 2009, Sofia, Bulgaria, Category XXI (2755) PlayerRating123456PointsWinsH2HTPR 1 Alexei Shirov (Spain)27451 ½½ ½½ ½½ ½1 16½2867 2 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)27700 ½Does not appear1 ½½ 1½ 1½ ½631½2824 3 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)2812½ ½0 ½Does not appear1 ½½ ½1 163½2816 4 Wang Yue (China)2738½ ½½ 00 ½Does not appear½ ½1 ½4½2723 5 Leinier Domínguez (Cuba)2721½ ½½ 0½ ½½ ½Does not appear½ 042690 6 Vasyl Ivanchuk (Ukraine)27460 0½ ½0 00 ½½ 1Does not appear32608

### 2010

The tournament was cancelled because of the World Chess Championship 2010 match in Sofia.

