CHESS PLAYERS from Bulgaria

Top 6

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Bulgarian Chess Players of all time. This list of famous Bulgarian Chess Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Veselin Topalov (b. 1975)

With an HPI of 50.97, Veselin Topalov is the most famous Bulgarian Chess Player.  His biography has been translated into 59 different languages on wikipedia.

Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced [vɛsɛˈlin toˈpalof]; Bulgarian: Весели́н Алексáндров Топа́лов; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Champion. Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. He lost his title in the World Chess Championship 2006 against Vladimir Kramnik. He challenged Viswanathan Anand at the World Chess Championship 2010, losing 6½–5½. He won the 2005 Chess Oscar. He was ranked world number one from April 2006 to January 2007. He regained the top ranking in October 2008 until January 2010. His peak rating was 2816 in July 2015, placing him joint-tenth on the list of highest FIDE-rated players of all time. Topalov has competed at nine Chess Olympiads (1994–2000, 2008–2016), winning board one gold in 2014 and scoring best overall performance in 1994. He also won in Linares, Corus, Dortmund, Stavanger and Pearl Spring tournaments. Topalov is married and has two daughters.

2. Antoaneta Stefanova (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 42.12, Antoaneta Stefanova is the 2nd most famous Bulgarian Chess Player.  Her biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgarian: Антоанета Стефанова; born 19 April 1979) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and Women's World Champion from 2004 to 2006. She has represented Bulgaria in the Chess Olympiad in 2000 and the Women's Chess Olympiad since 1992.

3. Kiril Georgiev (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 39.86, Kiril Georgiev is the 3rd most famous Bulgarian Chess Player.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Kiril Dimitrov Georgiev (Bulgarian: Кирил Димитров Георгиев; born 28 November 1965 in Petrich) is a Bulgarian and Macedonian chess grandmaster, and seven-time Bulgarian Chess Champion. From 2002 to 2004, he was affiliated to the Macedonian Chess Federation, to which he returned in July 2018, after playing under the FIDE banner.

4. Ivan Cheparinov (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 35.23, Ivan Cheparinov is the 4th most famous Bulgarian Chess Player.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Ivan Cheparinov (Bulgarian: Иван Чепаринов; born November 26, 1986) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He is a four-time Bulgarian champion (2004, 2005, 2012, 2018). Cheparinov competed in the FIDE World Cup in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2015 and 2017. He switched his affiliation from Bulgaria to FIDE in 2017, then to Georgia in 2018, and back to Bulgaria in 2020.

5. Aleksander Delchev (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 32.71, Aleksander Delchev is the 5th most famous Bulgarian Chess Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Aleksander Delchev (Bulgarian: Александър Делчев; born 15 July 1971) is a Bulgarian chess player and writer currently representing Serbia. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1997. Delchev won the Bulgarian Chess Championship in 1994, 1996 and 2001. He played for the Bulgarian national team in the Chess Olympiads of 1994, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012 with a performance of 64.6% (+36=34-12). Selected tournament victories include the European Junior Chess Championship (1991–1992), the 47th Reggio Emilia chess tournament (2004–2005), the 4th Open Master at the Sixth International Chess Festival in Benidorm (2007), the International Open Championship of Croatia (2007) and the Open International Bavarian Chess Championship in Bad Wiessee (2005 and 2013). In 2011 he tied for 2nd-7th with Julio Granda, Ivan Šarić, Pablo Almagro Llamas, Maxim Turov and Mihail Marin at the 31st Villa de Benasque Open.

6. Vasil Spasov (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 32.58, Vasil Spasov is the 6th most famous Bulgarian Chess Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Vasil Spasov (sometimes spelled Spassov; Bulgarian: Васил Спасов; born 17 February 1971 in Varna) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1989, and the Bulgarian championship five times, in 1990, 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2008. Spasov also won the Balkan Individual Championship in 2001. He played for the Bulgarian national team in eight Chess Olympiads (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2004 and 2006) and in four European Team Chess Championships (1992, 2001, 2003 and 2005).