WHILE making a movie in Bulgaria, Hillary Swank attended the opening of the M-Tel international in Sofia last month, but it was a local grandmaster who stole the spotlight at the end.

Veselin Topalov managed to score 4½ points out of five to take clear first place – and vault to the top of the international rating list.

At the relatively old age of 30, Topalov is suddenly a superstar of the chess world.

He first became known by defeating Garry Kasparov in an Olympiad team match nearly a decade ago, but has remained just outside the elite group of elite GMs since then.

However, thanks to his Sofia performance, Topalov gained 10 rating points to reach 2,788 – which makes him the No. 1-ranked player in the world now that Kasparov is “retired.”

Vladimir Kramnik, who claims one of the world championship titles, blundered once again, this time against Topalov in the last round. He tied for last in Sofia and will drop to No. 5 in the world rankings.

Meanwhile, another tournament held 5,000 miles away topped Sofia’s nearly $400,000 prize fund by more than $100,000.

A huge turnout of more than 1,700 players competed in several sections of the Global Chess Challenge in Minneapolis. The surprise winner of the $50,000 top prize was GM Zviad Izoria of Georgia, who took clear first place with a 7-2 score.