Veselin Topalov won the Fide world title in 2005, lost the bitter 2006 Toiletgate match to Russia's Vlad Kramnik, was accused of computer advice via his coach's hand signals, then dropped down the chess ratings. Now the Bulgarian's chequered career has taken another strong upswing. His superb tournament form in the second half of 2008 this week raised him back to No1 in the rankings, ahead of the world chess champion, Vishy Anand. Moreover, Topalov's latest impressive first prize at the Pearl Spring chess tournament in Nanjung, China, came after the ratings deadline. And with a little help from Fide officials he is seriously back in title contention. Next month he will be favourite in ...

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