Since 2017, the MVL CHESS website has published a great many texts, in both French and English, through which I have been able to recount and analyse my experience as a chess player at the very highest level. For nine years, I have regularly kept chess enthusiasts and everyone who follows my career around the world informed. Today, however, the evolution of online formats, together with the circumstances, compels me to bring this adventure to an end.
Clearly, the written format—particularly a fairly dense one—is no longer as appealing as it once was, faced with strong competition from other forms of communication. Moreover, this project was very much a team effort: my words were collected and shaped by my manager, Laurent Vérat, and then published by our friend and the site’s technical director, Stéphane Mouchel. A tireless source of ideas and suggestions, he sadly passed away suddenly at the end of 2025. This premature loss—beyond the shock it caused—only reinforced our growing conviction that the current format was no longer appropriate. Stéphane himself had already begun reflecting on new ways of communicating.
We will pursue this reflection and, within the next few weeks, propose a new way to stay in touch with you. In the meantime, the archive of past publications will of course remain accessible, as will all the other sections of MVL CHESS.
I wish you all a wonderful year 2026 and look forward to seeing you again very soon.
Maxime