TOURNAMENT players like to gauge their improvement by rating. If they gain points, they’re getting better.

But a more traditional – and perhaps a more valid – way of measuring progress is how well you do against “uncomfortable” opponents.

Take Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria who is scheduled to face Vladimir Kramnik in a match for the “absolute world championship” in September.

Since they first met in 1993, Kramnik has dominated Topalov. He holds a plus-4 record in games played at traditional time controls. If you add in speed and “blindfold” games, their score is 19 Kramnik wins, nine Topalov victories and 33 draws.

But in the past year, Topalov began to turn it around, beating the Russian in the last round of Sofia 2005 and crushing him in 20 moves as Black at Wijk aan Zee 2006.

“There was a time when many strong players were uncomfortable opponents for me,” Topalov said recently. But when he faced them in last year’s world championship tournament in San Luis, Argentina, “I turned out to be uncomfortable.”

Meanwhile, there are two new world championships: Sections for boys and girls under age 8 have been added to the World Youth Championships, which will be held this year in Batumi, Georgia.