It is highly unlikely that there is a single person in Bulgaria who is unaware of the fact that Bulgaria contributed to the global development of chess by submitting one of the World Chess Champions.
Veselin Topalov is the 2005-2006 Bulgarian Grandmaster Chess Champion and the 2010-2012 World Vice-Champion. He is born in 1975 in Rousse. His father introduces him to the intellectual magic of chess when the boy is merely 8. At 12 he becomes the Master of Sports and the Junior World Champion for players up to the age of 14, which adorned him with yet another acknowledgement—the one of the International Master of Sports. Among the great many recognitions and awards that come next, are Vice-Champion for adolescents up to the age of 16, Balkan Junior Champion, World Chess Federation (FIDE) Grandmaster, National Champion for Men and a multitude of other prizes from international, regional, and world chess tournaments. 
His World Championship prize follows soon. At the age of 30, on 16 October 2005, Veselin Topalov becomes the World Chess Champion, and his game is rated with an ELO coefficient of 2890 at an average 2739 for the whole championship. For his exceptional achievement, he is awarded the Chess Oscar for 2005.
In 2006 he ranks the World Chart of chess players who have ever reached an ELO coefficient above 2800. His ELO sublime achievement is said to be 2816, which he reaches in 2015. 
It shoots him in the Chart of the Eternal Chess World Rankings among the only eight players, who have ever scored an ELO coefficient above 2800 and his name is listed next to the names of the other chess legends – Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, and Magnus Carlsen.
Read more about Veselin Toplaov on Wikipedia.
Watch a chess play between GM Ben Finegold and GM Veselin Topalov from 2015, as well as an interview with our Grandmaster after his victory in Norway during the same year.
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