Category: English

Yes, this September really was « Grand », with first the Grand Swiss in Samarkand (Uzbekistan) and then the Grand Chess Tour finals in São Paulo (Brazil) – two obviously very important events: the first being a qualifier for the Candidates 2026, and the second deciding the season’s professional circuit podium.

I arrived at the Grand Swiss with a whole French delegation: Jules (Moussard), Marc’Andria (Maurizzi), Maxime (Lagarde) and I all took the same flight from Paris – I think Étienne (Bacrot) came from Nice. The venue was a bit too isolated but quite pleasant, and we still managed to visit Samarkand’s famous old town. We were spread across several hotels and there wasn’t much to do outside aside from walking – though the riverside setting was nice. Maxime stayed in the same hotel as me, while Jules and Marc’Andria were elsewhere. Our hotel even had a games console with several games, including FIFA, and a ping-pong table. So the four of us often met there.

After a short week at home, I had to head off in the other direction – to Brazil! Another country added to my list 😊. The first thing that struck me on arrival was the huge enthusiasm for chess. It’s true it was the first super-tournament in Brazil – even in South America – for about twelve years (São Paulo already, a tournament I hadn’t participated in). There was a big crowd for the event and a real passion from the public; it’s also just part of the Brazilian spirit. The tournament itself was extremely well organized. I’m very happy to have taken part and to have helped contribute to the hype around the event and to engage with the local public.

On the competitions themselves:

In Samarkand, I wasn’t thrilled to start with black in an 11-round Open where you absolutely need to score to be among the top two qualifiers for the Candidates. It turned out I soon had a double white, and ultimately finished with six whites! The tournament started well, but I suffered a sharp setback against Marc’Andria in a very wild game where anything could have happened. I reached a winning position, but that was partly because Marc’Andria took a lot of risks at one point.

In round 6 with black against the Armenian Sargsyan, I decided to go all-in (rightly or wrongly), and it went very badly! Afterwards, I managed to win three games in a row, which gave me some hope, but it was unfortunately « too little, too late », especially after a game where I might have had a chance against Mishra, but he was very solid and found the right moves to hold. In the end I posted a respectable +3 (7/11), but there is a bitter taste since I didn’t really fight for the top places. Clearly, the loss with white against Marc’Andria changed a lot in that respect.

For the four-player final of the Grand Chess Tour, I had set myself two missions. First, win a match to qualify for the 2026 edition. Second, go for the overall victory, as I had never won this circuit despite being a regular on the podium for the past ten years.

In the semi-final against Pragg, who has played extremely well this year, the match was tense. After two draws in the classical games, I produced a very convincing first Rapid game with white. In the second Rapid he caused me a lot of trouble, but I managed to find active, accurate moves and to defend. The blitz games could have gone badly, but I was lucky to win from a lost position in the third one and ultimately take the match.

With the first mission accomplished, I then went for the second: the final against Fabiano (Caruana). The pattern was somewhat similar to the match against Pragg, except that in the first classical game it was Fabi who had winning chances after an enormous amount of prep on his part and a gigantic game. Luckily, he made some mistakes in a dramatic Queen endgame in which I held on with a lot of resilience – and a little bit of luck! Like against Pragg, after two draws I won the first Rapid game and then comfortably defended the second. However, I completely collapsed in the blitz – I lost three straight games! A first unfortunate loss triggered everything, but clearly the blitz was a major weakness in both matches. Less consistency, less freshness – these are things that happen to me more often now, whereas blitz used to be a strength. Still, I came extremely close to equalizing in the final blitz.

Overall, either of us could have won the match, but Fabiano’s final victory was by no means undeserved. My blitz skills exposed too many limits to hold the score.

Some noteworthy moments from the two events:

GRAND SWISS

MVL- MAURIZZI, Round 4

I was neutralized in the opening and there was a very critical moment here. After
19…Qa5 20.axb5 Qxb5
, I was initially planning 21.Nh4?, but that’s a mistake because of 21…Be4 22.f3 and the move we both missed, 22…Qb6 23.fxe4 Bd2!. So after 20…Qxb5 I should have played 21.Nd2 and everything trades off: 21…Nxd2 22.Bxd2 Qxe2 23.Bxb4 =. But Marc’Andria preferred the enormous complications resulting from 19…Ba3!? 20.Rxc4 dxc4 21.Qxa3 Qa5. The position then became wildly unbalanced, yet I still felt I had a more dangerous attack, which was ultimately borne out.

Here I had a win but didn’t find it and ended up playing 30.Bh6?, a totally off move. You can feel it – but I couldn’t clearly identify either of the two winning lines. For me the first is the easiest: 30.Qh4 Qxe5 31.Nc2! and the arrival of the Bishop on d4 is lethal. 30.Ne2 immediately also worked, with the same idea of bringing the Bishop to d4, after which the black King will be helpless.

In the game, after several inaccuracies on both sides in this crazy position, I completely cracked here.

I had seen 35.fxg6 hxg6 (35…fxg6? 36.Nc6!) 36.Rxf7 c1=Q+ 37.Bxc1 Rxc1+ 38.Kf2 but I thought it was losing because the b-pawn would promote, when in fact it wasn’t. It was because in my head during the time trouble my Bishop lingered on h6 and it’s the Bd3 which I believed sacrificed itself on c1 😊. So at first I thought I could mate with Rg7+ with a « shadow Bishop » on h6! But when I realized the confusion I felt doomed, hence 35.Bc1? which loses without resistance after 35…Ra2 followed by …b2.

This result rewarded Marc-Andria’s extremely risky play. Objectively, it was a bit crazy on his part; one could say the position looked extremely dangerous for him, which the analysis later confirmed.

RODHSTEIN – MVL, Round 8

The Israeli GM surprised me a bit with the Anti-Grünfeld 3.f3, even though I knew he had analyzed it a lot when he was helping Gelfand for his 2012 World Championship match against Anand. I also knew he’s an inherently ambitious player who always plays for the win. Obviously, getting these complications didn’t bother me at all! The position turned out very well for me and I found myself winning; however, conversion was not easy.

I eventually found the right idea with 34…Qa4 35.Ra3 Bb5+ (35…Qxa6+ would have been more aesthetic) 36.Kg1 Qxa6. After 37.Rxa6 Nxf3+ 38.Kf2 Re2+ 39.Kxf3 Rg3+ 40.Kf4 Nh5+ 41.Kxf5 with three mating moves available (41…Bd3, 41…Bd7 and 41…Re5), I chose at random 41…Bd7#!

MVL – ERDOGMUS, Round 9

The young Turkish prodigy chose the somewhat unexpected Open Spanish. I should have foreseen it since he’s coached by Mamedyarov, who has played that opening a lot. In any case I anticipated he wouldn’t play the 12…d3 line as Mamedyarov does, but rather
12…dxc3, and fortunately I remembered that line fairly well.

Here I knew 21…g4 was probably the most precise, but he preferred 21…f5 22.exf6 gxf6 23.Nd4 Rh4 24.Rfe1 Rf4+ 25.Bf3 Bxh3? (25…Rxf3+! 26.Nxf3 Qd6 was the only way to continue, with compensation for the exchange) 26.Qc6! (punishing the error) 26…Rxf3+ 27.gxf3 Nb6.

28.Nb5! (definitely not 28.Qxf6? because 28…Qh7! is too dangerous) and the endgame is winning after 28…Qxc6 29.Na7+ Kb7 30.Nxc6 Rxd1 31.Nxa5+ Rc8 32.Rxd1. I could have converted more efficiently, but his strong defense is worth noting.

GRAND CHESS TOUR (FINAL PHASE)

PRAGG – MVL, semi-final, Game 1

During the game the position felt more difficult than it really was. I didn’t at all see the possibility 36…Qf6, which was so much simpler than the 36…Qb4 I played. After 37.Re4 Qd2?! it was already dubious since 38.Qxb6 follows; the resulting Rook ending after 38…Rxd5 39.Bxg4 hxg4 40.Rxg4 seemed drawn to me, but it’s not that easy to defend. Pragg chose 38.Re2 and I didn’t understand that I absolutely had to return to b4; for me I was already clearly worse. I had seen that after 38…Qd4? 39.Qc7! I would be in trouble, because if the Rook moves, then 40.d6!, and if 39…Qf6? 40.Re6!. 39…Rxd5 40.Bxd5 Qxd5+ 41.f3 would have been forced, leading to a difficult ending. But Pragg didn’t play 39.Qc7 because in the final moment he saw 39…Re8 and panicked, but there was just 40.Bxg4, which wins! He ended up playing 39.Rc2? with only one second left on the clock! Instead of being worse, I got an ending a pawn up after 39…Ne5 40.Qc3 Nxf3 41.Kxf3 Rxd5 42.Qxd4+ Rxd4…

This Rook ending is theoretically drawn but still extremely complex and it offers practical chances. It seems 46.Kf2 would be a draw here, for example 46…f6 47.Ke3 g5 48.hxg5 fxg5 49.f4 gxf4+ 50.gxf4 h4 51.Kf3. But not 46.Kh3? f6 47.Kg2 g5 48.Kh3 gxh4 49.g4!? which was ingenious but insufficient. 49…hxg4+ 50.fxg4 Kf7 51.Rd6 Ke7 52.Rc6 and here I missed the chance to force zugzwang; regrettably I did not find it.

And it wasn’t that hard! 52…Rb2! 53.Kxh4 (otherwise the Rook must let the black King pass) 53…Rb3 54.Kh5 (54.g5 is identical) 54…Rb4!, and the Rook’s stair-step maneuver forced a complete zugzwang: 55.g5 fxg5 56.Kxg5 Kd7 57.Rh6 Kc7 and the a pawn is lost.

Unfortunately I didn’t notice this zugzwang and, admittedly with a heavy heart, I chose 52…Rxa4? 53.Rxb6 Rb4 54.Ra6 a4

I had understood that here 55.Ra7+! was the only move to draw, since after 55…Kd6 56.Ra6+ Ke5, white can calmly capture on h4, the unfortunate position of the King on e5 preventing 57…f5? 58.Ra5+.

I still hoped a little that he would play the other move that looks natural, 55.Ra5?, which he did! But if that move indeed loses, it’s not for the reason I thought! After 55…Rb3+? 56.Kxh4 a3, white escapes with a draw by a tempo with 57.Ra6! (the move I forgot; I was expecting 57.g5? fxg5+ 58.Kxg5 Kd6 59.Kf4 Kc6 60.Ke4 Kb6 with a decisive gain of tempo on the Rook) 57…Rf3 58.g5 fxg5+ 59.Kxg5 Kd7 60.Kg4 Rb3 61.Kf4 Kc7 62.Ke4 Kb7 63.Ra4 Kb6 – and with the Rook on a4 instead of a5, black does not win a decisive tempo!

The « real » winning idea was 55…Rf4! 56.Kxh4 f5 57.Kg5 Rxg4+ 58.Kxf5 Rh4! (the key move, missed by both players) 59.Ra6 (59.Kg5 Rb4 60.Kf5 Kd6 61.Kf6 Kc6 62.Ke5 Kb6 gaining the crucial tempo) 59…Kd7 60.Ke5 Kc7 61.Kd5 Kb7 62.Rg6 a3 63.Rg2 Kb6 64.Ra2 Ra4 and white’s King is cut from the pawn.

MVL – PRAGG, Rapid 1

In the opening, Pragg forced the exchange of Queens at the cost of doubled a-pawns, and I thought the resulting endgame would be difficult for him. That proved true over time…

I’m quite happy to have realized that exchanging all Rooks was the right decision: 29.Ke2! Ke8 (29…Nxc5 30.dxc5 Na4 31.Bd4!) 30.f4 Be7 31.Ndb3 Nc4 32.Bc3 Ndb6 33.f5! and the space advantage combined with the weakness of the a-pawns becomes decisive.

PRAGG – MVL, Rapid 2

I came under heavy pressure in this Queen’s Gambit. His move 12.Nd2 was interesting and I reacted poorly, probably from inexperience in that line. The slightly risky 12…a5?! was inaccurate; 12…c5 would have been better (now that his Knight is on d2), even though I had just played 11…c6  ! Including 12…a5 13.a4, as Jules (Moussard) – who was there in Sao Paulo as my second – pointed out, prevents me any counterplay with …c5 because of the b5 square.

The critical moment of the game is here. I disliked 21…Nbd5 22.Nxf6+ Qxf6 23.Qf2, or 22.Qf2 immediately, which I found very uncomfortable. But 21…Nbd7? is much worse! We both missed 22.Bc4! Nxc5 23.dxc5 (23.Ng5? Qd6 didn’t work) 23…Nxe4 24.Qxe4! (a very important move). Now, if I exchange Queens, my pieces are trapped, and after 24…Qxc5+ 25.Kh1 I still cannot develop my Queenside, for example 25…Bd7? 26.f6! followed by 27.Qg6 – I can resign. 22.Qc3?! Nxe4 23.Rxe4 Qd6 wasn’t the end of the story… 24.Nxd7 Bxd7 25.f6 still poses serious problems. I quickly realized I had to prevent 26.Re7, hence
26…Re8 26.Rh4 (26.Ref4 g5!). In the end, I had to understand the vital importance of the maneuver 26…Re6 27.fxg7 Rf6! which allowed me to solve most of my issues.

After 28.Re1 Qb4 29.Qc1, I had another scare: I had my hand over the Rook to play 29…Re8??.

At the very last moment I saw 30.Rxe8+ Bxe8 31.Rg4! and the threat 32.Bh7+ is unstoppable! Pragg had also seen it and mentioned it after the game. Phew! And draw a few moves later after 29…Kxg7.

CARUANA – MVL, Final, Game 1

We are here in a modern line of the Queen’s Gambit, Exchange Variation. Fabiano prepared the novelty 14.Bd3, accepting doubled g-pawns. I know he often builds very long home-prepared lines and remembers them remorselessly. But he still surprised me by playing almost all his moves a tempo up to 23.Rf4!

I even overestimated the value of his prep because I spent a lot of time and wasn’t sure I was playing the right moves. I discovered I had found the first machine lines even though they didn’t seem forced, but he still replied almost instantly 😊. Still under the impression of being worse (though objectively I wasn’t), after correctly sacrificing a pawn with 24…Re6 25.b5 cxb5 26.Rxc7 Qd8 27.Rxa7 R8e7 28.Rf6 Kg7 29.Rxe6, I made a first inaccuracy by provoking the Rook exchange with 29…Bxe6?! (29…Rxe6! followed by …Bc6 and …Qb6; I wouldn’t say I would be better, but surprisingly it’s almost more pleasant for black) 30.Rxe7 Qxe7 31.Qb2

I felt there was enough play to equalize after 31…Bf5 (I spent a lot of time here and disliked 31…Bd7 because of 32.Qb4). Now, after 32.Bxf5 Nxf5 33.Qxb5, there was this incredible defensive idea 33…Qe4! that I hadn’t seen. Initially I wanted 33…Qd6? but 34.g4 would win for white (but not 34.e4? because 34…Nxd4 35.Qxd5 Qb4! which is very pretty, with the threat …Qe1+ and …Ne2). After 33…Qe4 34.Qb3 Nxg3 35.Nf2 Ne2+ 36.Kf1 Ng3+, everything is ok for black but I completely hallucinated, thinking white could escape the perpetual with 37.Ke1?, forgetting 27…Qxg2. After 32.Bxb5, I considered 32…Ne4 but after 33.a4, I missed 33…Qc7! which both attacks the pawn on g3 and prevents 34.a5. So I preferred
32…Nxb5 33.Qxb5 Bc2, forcing the transition to a Queen ending after 34.Qe2 Bxd1 35.Qxd1 Qxe3+ 36.Kh2

Objectively the ending is drawn, but with Queens it’s never simple; there were many options. 36…Qc3 seemed passive after 37.h4 followed by 38.a4, but in fact I could simply keep my Queen on c3 and wait with …Kg8-g7, when white can’t make progress. It was a difficult decision and I was afraid that there might be a way for white to win. So in the end I chose an active defense, but unfortunately not the right one, which was 36…h4. But I didn’t feel it, and it must be said that it’s not obvious after 37.gxh4 Qf4+ 38.Kg1 Qxh4 39.a4, but the machine is categorical: it’s 0.00! So I played 36…f5? 37.a4 f4 and I thought it might hold. But I had completely forgotten that at the end of the forced variation 38.gxf4 Qxf4+ 39. Kh1 g5 40.a5 g4 41.a6 gxh3 42.gxh3 Qe4+ 43.Kh2 Qf4+ 44.Kg2 Qe4+ 45.Qf3 Qxd4 …

White had the terrific 46.Qf2!. After 46…Qa4 (46…Qe4+ 47.Kg1 Qb1+ 48.Kh2 and there are no more checks) 47.a7 h4 48.Qe3 (48.Qc5! Qe4+ 49.Kf2 was the most clinical line, because black doesn’t even have 49…d4 50.Qg5+ Kf7 51.Qh5+ and white exchanges Queens on e2, f3, or g4) 48…Kf6 49.Qc3?! (49.Qh6+ Kf7 50.Qh7+ Kf6 51.Qh8+ Kf7 is useless because 52.a8=Q?? Qc2+ with perpetual; but simply 49.Qc5 was easily winning, with the threat of 50.Qf8+, which will not exist in the game, with the black King on g6!) 49…Kg6 50.Qc5 Qe4+

I was very happy here because I hadn’t seen that 51.Kf1! still wins for white. Neither did Fabi, but it’s true these endings are impossible to master at the board. After 51.Kf2? d4!, suddenly the position is drawn (remember there is no check on f8!), but Fabi found the strength to pose new problems.

Again, there’s barely enough time to correctly handle that ending. I thought the checks would end and there would be no perpetual, which wasn’t entirely accurate. The following sequence shows how complex it is ; 61…Qe3+ 62.Kb2 Qe2+ 63.Kb3 Qd3+ 64.Kb4 Qd2+ 65.Kb5 Qe2+ 66.Kb6 Qe6+ 67.Kb7 Qe4+ 68.Ka6 and it’s true that there’s no more saving check (68…Qc6+ 69.Qb6 Qc4+ 70.Kb7 Qd5+ 71.Qc6 or 68…Qd3+ 69.Qb5 Qa3+ 70.Kb6). On the other hand, and it’s certainly quite incredible because the white King seems to be better placed on a6, 61…d3! saves the day by exploiting the free tempo offered. Having not seen this subtlety, I played 61…Qa8? on the general ground that when the white Queen lands on b8 it’s harder for the white King to escape perpetual. But that isn’t true with the pawn on d4! After 62.Qc7+ Kh6 63.Qb8 Qc6+ 64.Kb1 (64.Kb2? Qc3+ 65.Ka2 Qa5+ and this is a perpetual!) 64…Qe4+ 65.Kb2 Qe2+ 66.Ka3! (once again an only move to escape) 66…Qd3+

67.Kb4?
(a last-minute slip! 67.Qb3! would have won, because after 67…Qa6+ [67…Qe4 68.Qb6+ followed by 69.Qd8] 68.Qa4 Qd6+ 69.Kb2! (only move again) 69…Qh2+ 70.Qc2 Qh1 71.Qc1+)
67…Qc3+ 68.Kb5 Qb3+ 69.Kc5 Qc2+ 70.Kd5 Qg2+! (the only check that holds) and after a few other forced checks given on the right squares, Fabi had to take the pawn on d4 and allow an easier perpetual on a widely open board..

MVL – CARUANA, Final, Rapid 1

Here I quickly played 13.Qd2? thinking it was part of my prep! (in the first blitz I eventually chose the correct 13.Qh5). With so much to memorize it’s always difficult, and as soon as I played that move I thought: « that’s odd – it looks completely stupid ». And it was! Fortunately Fabi didn’t exploit it and allowed a tactical sequence forcing the draw:

I was expecting the perpetual check after 19…Qh4 20.Nxf8 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 Qg4+. So I didn’t understand his 19…Qf6?, which seemed to show that he was playing for a win, but I still thought it was very, very daring!

But what Fabiano explained to me afterwards was that after 19…Qh4, he feared 20.f3 Rf6 21.Qxd6?. But I had seen the refutation that he had missed, 21…Qc4!. In the game, I found 20.Nxf8 Bh6 21.Ne3!, which is very effective because the Knight always lands on d5 to block the Bishop.

The technical conversion was complicated because not allowing any counterplay against a Bishop pair is never trivial.

CARUANA – MVL, Final, Blitz 4

Drama reached its peak in the final blitz, which I desperately needed to win to reach the tiebreak. I decided to play calmly in a symmetrical position while keeping pieces on the board. I think that’s a good strategy when you must win with black because it forces the white side to ruminate a bit. Fabi made several concessions in the early middlegame, other ones later, until the position became very hard to defend for him, and collapsed.

There were many mutual mistakes in the final moves, and at this stage we each had 17 seconds left (increment was 2″). With the white King in such a bad shape, 47…f5+! was the right move. After 48.Kh4 (48.exf6 Nxf6+ 49.Kh4 Qf3! is mate), I thought I could win with 48…Qf3??, forgetting the terrible 49.Qd7+ and if 49…Kh6 50.Qxh7+!. I played 49…Kf8 instead and it’s a perpetual after 50.Qd8+.

The win would have come from 48…g5+! 49.fxg5 Nf8!, threatening …Ng6+ and …Qf3 while controlling the check on d7…

Maxime’s games in the Grand Swiss:

Maxime’s games in the Grand Chess Tour final:

A few weeks ago Maxime took a two-day course at the GIGN headquarters, the French elite Gendarmerie unit specialized in crisis management and missions requiring highly specialized skills, including counter-terrorism, close protection and surveillance. Renowned worldwide, the unit is famous for its extremely demanding training and precise methods. At the invitation of Commander Ghislain Réty, Maxime was able to visit the facilities and receive expert advice on stress management, sleep, behavioral analysis, recovery and effort management.

He also accepted a few physical challenges, such as climbing a 24-meter tower ladder and then walking along a narrow metal beam – a real test of balance and nerve!

Having just returned from the Esports World Cup in Riyadh (see box at the end)
and after essentially changing suitcases😊, I arrived in the United States a few days before the start of the Grand Chess Tour tournaments, just to acclimatize myself. Indeed, in addition to the time difference, life in the United States is always a little different from that in Europe. So I visited friends, then arrived in St. Louis on August 9, two days before the start of the Rapid tournament. The slight change this time was that, as the club was still undergoing renovations, we were playing 15 minutes away by car, in a building that normally houses the commentators’ studio. The playing conditions were a little different, but just as good, so no worries there.

The restart was a little complicated… Even though, overall, I did well in the Rapid tournament, especially in the last games of each day (against Shankland, against Oparin, where I won on time, and against Wesley, against whom I played a good game). But the first two days were particularly difficult. I was +1 on the scoreboard, but it could have been much worse and it could easily have been -3. My play wasn’t very controlled overall, starting with the very first game against Fabiano, where I made a mistake in the opening and was lost after ten moves! (but I still managed to draw😊). After those two difficult days, I regained my composure on the third day of the Rapid tournament, and it was much better.

In the Blitz, it was also not bad, especially on the first day, but with a theme that will come back later, a lot of missed opportunities…

In the end, the final tally at the end of the tournament was pretty good with this 3rd place, which allowed me to lead the Grand Chess Tour and virtually guaranteed qualification for the final in São Paulo. But in terms of play, it was a bit mixed, a bit like in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) where there were ups and downs (admittedly, with far fewer games).

With that, we move seamlessly on to the Classic tournament, where the objective was simple: to secure the two and a half or three points that (according to my calculations!) were needed to more or less guarantee qualification. In my mind, I could almost finish last and still qualify, even if that wouldn’t have been the case with the same trio as the final podium: in fact, if I had finished last, Wesley would have taken my place!

I was pretty confident, I had white five times, I was in pretty good shape, and I had been able to review my opening lines. I thought I had prepared myself pretty well. In the openings, things went very well overall. Maybe I was a little light with the white pieces at times, but that was the case for everyone; even Fabiano drew immediately against Levon, without really trying; that says it all!

In the games themselves, the real regret is obviously the many missed opportunities (or half ones). A half-opportunity against Alireza, where I made a mistake in a position that was certainly winning for the machine, but not so trivial for a human. Behind, with very little time left on the clock, he came up with the perfect defense. It’s almost a fact of the game, he’s used to these defenses, but in any case, let’s say it’s not a huge mistake.

On the other hand, here are the three scoring opportunities, one clear and two unmissable, that I created without converting them:

MVL – ARONIAN, Round 3

After a chaotic game, I gained the upper hand and deliberately entered this winning endgame, even though I probably had a more direct solution a few moves earlier. But it seemed to me that this endgame would be easy to convert, and I may have relaxed a little too much.

48.Bb2?! (not a mistake per se, as the verdict on the position remains unchanged, but undoubtedly a first step in the wrong direction. Simpler was 48.Bc5 with the idea of putting the bishop on b4 and the pawn on a3 before attacking the h-pawn with the Rook). 48…Kc7 49.Kh3 Re4 50.Kg3 Kc6 51.Ra5 h5 52.Kf3?! (A second step sideways. As we will soon see, quickly placing the pawn on a3 was a sure bet!) 52…Rc4

53.Bf6??
(and the blunder happens! Black had only one way out: exchanging Rooks or winning the a-pawn. This catastrophic move will allow Levon to blackmail the first threat in order to achieve the second! After 53.a3 Rc2 54.Bd4 h4 55.Rh5 Ra2 56.Bc5 h3 57.Bb4 h2, the machine confirms that the position remains winning, but with black’s pawn on h2, the task would have been much more difficult)
53…Rc5! 54.Ra6+ Kb7 55.Rxe6 Ra5!
(a cold shower! The a-pawn is lost because if 56.Re2 Rf5+ takes advantage of the unfortunate position of the bishop on f6). After a few moves trying to play the R+B vs R endgame, I had to relinquish my hopes and share the point…

GUKESH – MVL, Round 4

I managed not to get carried away by the easy win I missed against Aronian, and I played a very good game against the world champion. Unfortunately, I made a stupid miscalculation in this position, which cost me another half point. I should have played the most natural continuation, namely 31…Rg8+ 32.Kh2 Rf2, and white has no way out: 33.Bf3 (33.e5+ Ke6 34.Bf3 Bc6 35.Bxc6 bxc6 36.Rg1 c3! is hopeless) 33…c3! 34.Rac1 (34.e5+ Ke7! 35.Bxb7 Bf5 followed by 36…c2 and white is tied up) 34…c2, and then I saw 35.Kg1?, completely forgetting 35…Rxf3! (35…Rd2 also wins, by the way!). So I changed tack to
31…cxb3? 32.axb3 a6, which loses the advantage after 33.Bf3. (1/2, 53 moves).

ABDUSSATOROV – MVL, Round 6

After putting in a fine performance against Abdussatorov, who was admittedly out of form, I reached this winning position at the time control. I realized that there were four possible paths and that I therefore had an important choice to make. The first, and most obvious, was 41…Re6. But I wasn’t sure that the endgame after 42.Rxe6 Kxe6 was a sure win because, despite being two pawns down, white had a blockade on the white squares. 41…Re3 42.Rxb6 Rxd3 43.Nxf5 Rc3 also looked winning, but not in a clear and straightforward way. The same goes for 41…Rb1 42.Kf3 (but not 42.Rxb6 c4!).

So I looked at the linear solution, namely the pawn endgame after 41…Re2+? 42.Kf3 Rh2 43.Kxf4 Rxh4+ 44.Kxf5 Rh5+ 45.Rg5 Rh3 46.Rg6 Rf3+

47.Kg4? (Nodirbek told me at the closing ceremony that he had quickly rejected 47.Ke4 Re3+, forgetting he could just come back with 48.Kf5.)47…Kxg6? (thoughtlessly continuing my transition to a pawn endgame that I thought was winning. Here, with white’s King on g4 and not on e4, the Rook endgame after 47…Rxd3 48.Rxb6 Ke7! was indeed winning!) 48.Kxf3 Kg5 49.Kg3 and, against all odds, this endgame turned out to be a draw, which was really a stroke of bad luck! White has to play a long series of « only moves » with his King, but no matter how I prepare…b5, then…a4, there is always a mouse hole for white’s King, as long as he respects all principles of the famous « corresponding squares ». Despite all my efforts, Nodirbek was up to the challenge and saved the half point.

After this litany of missed opportunities, my game against Sevian was my last chance to win the tournament. My preparation was perhaps a little light, but it worked well and I got an advantage. Then I made the mistake of having too many choices. I ended up making the wrong decisions and the situation turned around a little.

From then on, the last two rounds lost some of their interest: against Fabiano, I didn’t want to prepare for the 10,000 lines he could play against me (in fact, he played one I hadn’t anticipated!). I preferred to play it safe, with a small, uneventful advantage. And in the last round, Duda, with white, chose to play a theoretically drawing line.

Drawing all your games is never very pleasant, but in the context, the overall result isn’t bad, although I do have a slight regret that I didn’t capitalize on my good form to move up in the Elo rankings; I could have almost returned to the world’s Top 10 right now. But on the other hand, I remain optimistic. I tell myself that the solidity and level of play I displayed bodes well for the autumn events (Grand Swiss, Grand Chess Tour final, and World Cup). There are five qualifying places for the Candidates Tournament up for grabs, two at the Grand Swiss and three at the World Cup. The goal is to take one of those places and also to try to win the Grand Chess Tour for the first time, after so many second places!

Maxime’s rapid games in Saint-Louis:

Maxime’s blitz games in Saint-Louis:

Maxime’s classical games in the Sinquefield Cup:

This summer, chess made a sensational entry into the world of esports, joining the prestigious World Cup, which brings together the main games in the discipline, I signed up at the beginning of the year with Team Vitality, one of the best teams in the world, which also has the advantage for me of being French! Things were looking pretty good because, like my teammate Javokhir Sindarov, I had made it through the difficult qualifying stages and joined the list of 16 players qualified for the final in Riyadh, which took place from July 29 to August 1. But the rate of play (10 minutes without increment) is relentless, and neither Javokhir nor I managed to finish in the top half of the bracket, which awards points to the teams. It’s all the more unfortunate because I failed by a hair’s breadth at the very end of an epic tiebreaker against India’s Nihal Sarin. I didn’t know it at the time, of course, but the few team points lost on that occasion would make the difference between the 3rd place in the World Cup ultimately won by Vitality, and second place! With, incidentally, a loss of $1 million for the team…

We will console ourselves with this podium finish, which improves on Vitality’s result last year (4th) and bodes well for 2026…

In the middle of summer, Maxime will compete in the first Esports World Cup under the Vitality banner, starting on Tuesday, July 29. This is a very important event in the rapidly evolving chess ecosystem, taking place in Riyadh in an uncompromising 10+0 format. Official site: https://esportsworldcup.com/en/competitions/chess

As a preview to this competition, we invite you to listen to Maxime answer a series of questions… on a wide range of topics!

This was the individual objective of the last two months: to secure one of the qualifying places for the esport World Cup in Riyadh (July 29 – August 1). Then came the team target, with the Top 16 (French Team Championships).
A look back at these two competitions:

CHAMPIONS CHESS TOUR, Chess.com Classic

I played in the second Champions Chess Tour tournament from Vitality’s headquarters in Paris. They’ve been my esports team since the beginning of the year, and their « hive », the V Hive, is located in the heart of Paris, not far from my home. I thought it was important to get into the right mindset and not play from home, so I could feel like I was in a tournament setting. The V-Hive offers a rather pleasant environment for this kind of event: a well-equipped, modern venue with a gaming touch right to the spectators, but without being too noisy, which suited the audience of the day. As for me, I was placed in a separate room to avoid any distractions…

The tournament was indeed decisive: I had a wild-card for the 16-player final phase, but I had to win points to reach the Top 12 in the overall ranking and qualify for the World Cup. I had estimated before the competition that I would have to win 2 matches out of 4, but in the end I had to win 3 to secure qualification! I started with a match against Caruana, which I won quite convincingly, even though I won the only one of the 4 games in which I didn’t dominate, the last one!

Then Magnus stood in my way. Of course, I knew it was going to be a tough match, but I’d already beaten him in this format, so I wasn’t going to feel hopeless. But the first game was a huge setback for me, as I was completely winning and then I blundered a Rook in one move in the zeitnot. I never recovered from that.

Then I had a very important day in the Losers’ Bracket, where I had to win both my matches. First, against Erigaisi… It was a very tense match, decided in an Armageddon where anything could have happened. However, I managed to use my time advantage at the start, and in a slightly more pleasant endgame, very difficult to defend in this time control (10 + 0), I ended up winning. Then I beat Levon (Aronian) in a much controlled match. The main thing was done, as I had secured my place for the esport World Cup. I was more relaxed the next day, and won my three matches against Nepo, Abdusatorrov and Nakamura, before losing the Grand Final to Carlsen. Nothing to say, he played really well, and I was a bit under the weather. My mission now is to find a way of getting my revenge in Riyadh!

I’m satisfied with my tournament and overall with the level of play I produced; the idea is to be able to repeat this type of performance…

TOP 16, Belfort

I entered the tournament late because of my Champions Chess Tour journey, which caused me to miss the first two rounds.

So I left on Saturday morning, with the 8.27 am train from Gare de Lyon, not far from home. I headed for Belfort, normally arriving at 11.09 am, well in time for a round scheduled at 2.30 pm. All was well up to Dijon, but the station stop there seemed unusually long. And indeed, we were finally told that the train wouldn’t be leaving Dijon at all! From then on, I could either wait for the replacement bus to Belfort, almost 200 kms away, but that would have been very dicey. So I decided to go straight for a cab, and I have to say that it didn’t take long 😊 . Despite this little mishap, I still managed to play a good game, and help the team win the match. My ambition was obviously for my Asnières team to reclaim the title we won two years ago. Especially as last year we were never really in a position to fight for first place. For a long time, things went rather well; admittedly, we had some pretty tense matches, but most of them we won.

Unfortunately, we lost an important match against Cannes. We therefore found ourselves neck-and-neck in the last round with the other favorite, Chartres, but with the obligation to win this « final ». But in the third hour of play, we were down 1-2 and all that was left was my game, for honor’s sake. As usual, I faced Laurent Fressinet with white, and as always, he defended himself well. But he made a small mistake just before the 40th move and I found myself in a Queen + 3 pawns versus Queen + 2 pawns endgame on the same side, which is theoretically a draw, but still leaves room to work on the position. I tried to press on to the end, and I really wasn’t that far from achieving something, but in the end, it was a draw all the same…

I think I played pretty well overall. I won two good games against Yannick Gozzoli and Amin Tabatabaei. I put a lot of pressure with white, something I’d been lacking for some time; and here, between Bucharest and the Top 16, I’ve managed to do it again. Of course, it’s also the law of series, with, over a given period, the preparations working a little better, etc. But it’s still quite encouraging for the future.

Now it’s time for a vacation, before resuming my preparations in July. But in terms of competition, I’ve got nothing scheduled before a sequence that will take me first to Riyadh on July 27 for the esport World Cup. Then, from August 9, it’s on to the American season, with the usual Grand Chess Tour combo in St. Louis; Rapid & Blitz, followed by the Sinquefield Cup. Then, at the very beginning of September, it’s time to change hemispheres, heading for Uzbekistan for the Grand Swiss, a qualifier for the 2026 Candidates!

Here’s a spectacular game from the Champions Chess Tour:

Mvl – Erigaisi
Champions Chess Tour (2.1), 21.05.2025

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 [Inviting my opponent to leave the waters of the Sicilian for those of the French, of which he is also a regular practitioner] 3…d5 4.e5 Nc6 5.d4 Bd7 6.Be2 f6 7.0-0 fxe5 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.dxe5 Qc7 10.Re1 0-0-0 [Erigaisi had already played this position several times, but his opponents had always replied 11.Bf1, protecting e5] 11.a4!? [A pawn sacrifice introduced by Hungarian GM Gabor Papp, which leads to massive complications!] 11…Qxe5 12.Na3 Nf6 13.Nb5

[My new idea. Even though Black should objectively get away with it, I knew that in a rapid game, the task would be arduous!] 13…a6 14.g3 Qb8 15.b4 e5 [The refutation of white’s sequence was to take the piece with 15…axb5 16.axb5 c4, then evacuate the King on e7 with 17.Be3 Re8! followed by …Kd8-e7. However, if we don’t let ourselves be influenced by the computer’s assessment, the position continues to be very frightening for black]. 16.Be3 axb5 [16…d4? is unplayable due to either the opening of the c-file or the opening of the h2-b8 diagonal, with fatal consequences for black’s King in both cases]. 17.axb5 c4 18.Bb6

18…Be7? [The first real mistake. 18…Be6 followed by 19…Bd6 would have consolidated the position and put pressure on white to justify the absence of his Knight!] 19.Ra7 [19.Ba7 Qc7 20.Bc5 led to an equal endgame following an untraceable sequence! 20…Bxb5 forced 21.Bg4+! (21.Ra8+? Kd7 22.Bg4+ Kc6-+) 21…Nxg4 22.Ra8+ Kd7 23.Qxg4+ Kc6 (23…Ke8? 24.Qxg7 Rf8 25.Rxe5+-) 24.Qe6+ Rd6 (24…Bd6 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Rxe5+-) 25.Bxd6 Qxd6 26.Qxd6+ Bxd6 27.Rxh8 and after the only move 27….d4!, black develops enough play to compensate for being two exchanges down!] 19…Bxb5 [I was rather expecting 19…Be6 20.Qa4 Kd7 and the position remains on the razor’s edge] 20.Qa1? [A move played on instinct without much thought, and we both forgot a hidden defensive resource. Possible was 20.Bg4+ Bd7 21.Bf3; however, the best was to start with 20.Ra5! according to the machine, but these complex nuances were not detectable in blitz chess]. 20…Qd6? [A natural move, but a losing one. Yet Black had the opportunity to refute white’s play with 20…Rd6! 21.Bc5 (21.Qa5 Ba6 and the game’s maneuver doesn’t work: 22.Bf1 ((22.b5 Bd8!-+)) 22…g5 23.Rxe5 Rxb6!) 21…Qxa7! followed by 22…Ra6, missed by both of us!] 21.Qa5 Qc6

22.Bf1 [A rare backwards winning move! The double threat of 23.Rxe5 and 23.Bh3+ is too strong. Note that without this pretty resource, seen in advance, white would be lost here]. 22…Kd7 23.Rxe5 Rb8? [If 23…g5 24.Rxg5 I wasn’t sure I’d win the game. But I knew it was the only line able to offer black practical chances of defense]. 24.Bh3+ Ke8 25.Bc5 Ng8 [now I was sure I was clearly winning, but I calculated for a long time because there were too many tempting possibilities!] 26.Re6 b6 27.Raxe7+ Nxe7 28.Rxe7+ Kd8 [28…Kf8 29.Qa7] 29.Qa7 bxc5 30.Rd7+ Qxd7 31.Qxb8+ Ke7 32.Qe5+ Kf7 33.Bxd7 Bxd7 34.Qxd5+ Be6 35.Qxc5

[Erigaisi defended like a devil for 25 more moves, but the final outcome was never in doubt]. 35…Rd8 36.b5 Rd1+ 37.Kg2 Bd5+ 38.f3 Ke6 39.b6 Rb1 40.Kf2 Rb3 41.Qd4 g6 42.Re3 Kd6 43.Qg7 Rxb6 44.Kd4 Be6 45.Qxh7 Rb2 46.Qh8 Rd2+ 47.Ke3 Rd3+ 48.Ke2 Bd5 49.Qf6+ Kc5 50.h4 Kb5 51.g4 Ka4 52.h5 gxh5 53.gxh5 Kb3 54.h6 Bg8 55.Qg7 Rd8 56.Qe7 Rb8 57.Kd2 Rb5 58.Dd8 Bh7 59.Qd7 Rh5 60.Qb7+ 1-0

Maxime’s games at the Champion Chess Tour:

Top 16 Maxime’s games:

Maxime’s games at the world rapid & blitz team championship:

Just before the holidays, a final competition awaited Maxime in the English capital: the World Rapid & Blitz Team Championship, which he contested on behalf of the favorite WR Chess team. This 6-board competition requires 1 female player and 1 amateur player (-2000 Elo), and was held in London for its third edition. Despite a strong team, including Firouzja, Mvl, Nakamura, Duda, So and Hou Yifan, WR Chess only took a modest fifth place in the Rapid portion. But the team, bolstered by the last-minute arrival of Nepo for the Blitz, consoled itself by claiming the world title. After a rather modest 6/10 in the Rapid tournament, Maxime made a major contribution to his team’s Blitz title with an unbeaten score of 11.5/13, albeit against more heterogeneous opposition.

Warsaw was the venue for this year’s Grand Chess Tour (GCT) debut. We were in the old town, which was nice and made for pleasant strolls. Otherwise, the rest was pretty much the same as always, with the same hotel, the same venue and the same competition format. I always like to launch the GCT, since it’s a circuit that’s been working well for me for the last 10 years, even if I still haven’t won it 😊 (4th and 6th at the start, then five times 2nd and twice 3^rd! Ed.)

As far as the competition was concerned, things got off to a very, very bad start on the first day, with a loss in a winning position against Prag, followed by a draw in a position that I found rather tricky against Aronian. And finally another defeat, this time against Topalov. I gradually got back into the swing of things, getting to 50% by the end of the Rapid. It wasn’t necessarily brillant, but considering the nightmare of the first day, it wasn’t too bad.

Then the blitz got off to a very bad start too, with a couple of early losses. But suddenly, something changed… The end of the first day, and most of the second day, went very well. It allowed me to move up, not into first place, because Fedoseev had already been very strong in the Rapid and even stronger in the Blitz, winning just about any position he could get his hands on! In fact, he finished the tournament with a score almost worthy of Magnus, winning three or four rounds before the end. But in any case, it enabled me to come back and finish overall second in the end. It was a good result, since Fedoseev had a wild card, which enabled me to collect as many points as possible from the Tour players present in Warsaw.

I was able to rest for a few days in Paris between Warsaw and Bucharest, the venue for the first of the two classical GCT tournaments. I quickly realized when I arrived in Romania that I wasn’t necessarily in the best of moods and that the tournament was going to be complicated. I was feeling sick, with a fever and a headache.  And I was feeling very tired.

Nothing that really prevented me from playing, but it took up a lot of my energy during the tournament.

The first day was one of the hardest, especially against Firouzja where, after a few hours of play, I realized that I was unable to really think; this was particularly obvious after the 40th move; anyway, Firouzja had played a very good game and deserved to win. Then, paradoxically, for the next few days I wanted to rest and regain my strength, so quick draws would have done the trick. But things turned out differently, and I ended up having some long games, which still turned out well 😊. In fact, against Wesley So, I got an extra pawn in the endgame, which was certainly a draw though, but I gradually managed to put on a lot of pressure. I even let the win slip away at one point, but eventually recovered it. Another win was the surprisingly quick one against Gukesh, the reigning world champion.

A draw with black against Prag after a very good game took me to the rest day with +1, but having spent a lot of energy, and still feeling sick. And here, I was lucky. Indeed, one of my worst days in physical terms was this rest day, when I was unable to do anything. So it didn’t cost me too much, apart from the fact that I came back to the board the next day, without any preparation. I didn’t take any risks and decided to draw quickly (against Abdussatorov), and gained more time to recover. I really felt better for round 8 against Caruana, after a draw with black that I’d describe as « uneventful » against Deac; even if the position wasn’t so clear, it nevertheless always remained balanced. On the other hand, against Caruana, it was very tense and could have turned out very badly for me. I didn’t necessarily realize it during the game, and neither did he! In fact, he was looking for « the » big advantage, but without really finding it. To his credit, it wasn’t easy, whatever our friend the computer might say.

And that brings us to the last round, where Prag was in the lead after winning round 8; Firouzja, Caruana and I were half a point behind. I was playing against Duda with white. He was at the bottom of the tournament rankings, so this was an opportunity to win. He decided to play a Spanish Arkhangelsk rather than a Berlin for example, or a Petrov, which he had already tried a few times against me. I was perhaps a little surprised, but it turns out that I had reviewed my files on this variation and had some ideas. This specific line had surprisingly been played for the first time in April 2025; but, I told myself, it wasn’t a big deal, as the position was still quite complicated. So my preparation went well. Duda took a long time, and he didn’t necessarily come up with the best answers. In fact, it’s this game that we’ll be analyzing in greater detail below…

In the end, I won and qualified for the tie-break. After a homeric game, Firouzja also qualified and we ended up in a three-way tie-break which was very tense, with two draws to start with.

The third and final game was therefore decisive, and it was the one I played against Prag with black. Unfortunately, I ended up making a mistake in the endgame and lost. So, in the end, Prag won the Bucharest tournament quite deservedly, as he was very convincing and unbeaten throughout. He also took risks at the right time, notably against Wesley So with this Gambit Benko.

By sharing the points in Bucharest and capitalizing on my good tournament in Warsaw, I now lead the Grand Chess Tour. That’s pretty good news, and it puts me in a very good position to qualify for the Sao Paulo Finals at the end of September (the top 4 will be there. Ed.).

MVL – DUDA

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 8.d4 Bb6 9.a4 Rb8 10.a5 Ba7 [10…Nxa5? 11.Rxa5 Bxa5 12.dxe5 Nxe4 (12…dxe5 13.Qxd8+ Kxd8 14.Nxe5) 13.Qd5 is known to be losing].

11.h3 Bb7 12.Re1 0-0 13.Be3 exd4 14.cxd4 Nb4 15.Nc3 Bxe4 16.Nxe4 Nxe4 17.Rc1 Rc8 18.Bc2 d5 19.Bb1 Qd6 20.g3

20…Nc6 [There is no perpetual after 20…Nxg3? 21.fxg3 Qxg3+ 22.Kh1 Qxh3+ 23.Nh2]

21.Bf4 Qf6 [21…Qd7 22.Kg2 f6 23.h4 Nxa5 24.h5 was the continuation I remembered].

22.Bxe4 [First thought, but an easy one as there’s really no choice].

22…dxe4 23.Rxe4 Qf5 [With the idea …Qd5. After 23…Nxa5 I wanted to play 24.Be5 Qe6 (24…Qf5 25.Rf4 and if 25…Qxh3? 26.Ng5 Qh6 27.Rh4 Qxg5 28.Rg4 Qh6 29.Qd2! wins) 25.Ng5 Qg6 (25…Qf5 26.Rf4) 26.Bxg7! Qxg7 27.Rg4 f5 (27…Kh8 28.Nxh7!) 28.Ne6 fxg4 29.Nxg7 Kxg7 30.Qxg4+ and even if the machine gives equality, it’s not at all the impression I had. In practice, black can be prepared to suffer].

24.Ne5! [As soon as I saw it, I understood that this exchange sacrifice was powerful].

24…Nxe5 [24…Qxe4? 25.Nxc6 followed by 26.d5, and the Ba7 is a zombie; 24…Bxd4 25.Nxc6 Bxf2+ 26.Kxf2 Qxe4 27.Qf3 should not allow black to survive either; 24…Nxa5? 25.Qe1! Nb3 26.g4 is just as nightmarish].

25.Rxe5 Qxh3 26.Re7? [Unfortunately, I missed all the defenses based on …Rce8, hence this inferior move. The simple 26.d5! completely locked up black’s position, with an already decisive strategic advantage].

26…h6 27.d5 [A move too late!]

27…g5! 28.Be5 [My original idea was 28.Be3 Bxe3 29.Rxe3 but after 29…Qf5 I obviously have compensation for the pawn, but probably no more].

28…Rce8! 29.d6 [The only way to continue since 29.Rcxc7 Bb8! is a key resource, whereas 29.Rxe8 Rxe8 30.Bxc7 Bxf2+ 31.Kxf2 Qh2+ 32.Kf1 (32.Kf3? f5! would be suicidal) 32…Qh1+ 33.Kf2 Qh2+ would lead to perpetual].

29…cxd6 30.Rxa7 [30.Qxd6 always fails to 30…Bb8]

30…dxe5 31.Rxa6 e4 32.Qf1 Qg4 [32…Qxf1+ 33.Kxf1 could lead to a tricky Rook endgame for black, because of the a5 pawn. But 32…Qh5 was the most natural here, and on the board I saw no alternative but to accept my fate with 33.Qd1 Qh3 34.Qf1 and draw. I think that here, Duda wanted to keep the option of playing for the win].

33.Rxh6 [At first, I wanted to force a draw with 33.Qd1, until I saw that pushing the e-pawn was risky for him].

33…e3?! [33…Kg7 34.Qh3 Qxh3 35.Rxh3 kept the balance]

34.Qd3! [For sure, missed by Duda].

34…Re4? [This time, the mistake is decisive. With little time on the clock, Duda failed to appreciate the dangers on the h-file, and the astonishing security of my King. It was compulsory to exchange Queens with 34…Qe4, with an objectively equal double Rook ending, but undoubtedly easier to play for white].

35.Kg2! [A very aesthetic multi-purpose move. It threatens 36.f3 while protecting g3, prevents taking f2 with check, and connects the Rooks!]

35…exf2 36.Rch1 f1Q+ [There is already no defence: 36…Qe2 37.Qxe2 Rxe2 38.Rh8+ Kg7 39.R1h7+ Kg6 40.Rxf8 Kxh7 41.Rxf7+ Kg6 42.Rxf2 Re4 43.b3 wins; 36…Qf5 37.Rh8+ Kg7 38.R1h7+ Kg6 39.Qd6+ Re6 40.Rh6+ Kg7 41.Qxf8#; 36…Rfe8 37.Rh8+ Kg7 38.R1h7+ Kf6 39.Rh6+ Kg7 40.Rxe8 Rxe8 41.Qh7+ Kf8 42.Qh8+ Ke7 43.Qf6+ Kd7 44.Qc6+ followed by mate]

37.Kxf1 Qf5+ 38.Kg2 Qe5 39.Rh8+ Kg7 40.Rxf8! [The last trap was 40.R1h7+?! Kf6 41.Rxf8? (41.Rh6+ Kg7 42.Rxf8 Kxh6 43.Rxf7 was still winning, but more laboriously) 41…Qxb2+ and the icing on the cake was 42.Kf3?? (42.Kf1 Qc1+ 43.Kg2 with perpetual) 42…g4+! 43.Kxe4 Qe5#]

40…Qxb2+ [40…Kxf8 41.Qd8+ Kg7 42.Qh8+ Kg6 43.Qh6+ Kf5 44.Rf1+; 40…Re2+ allowed white’s King to make a nice round trip win: 41.Kf3 g4+ 42.Kxg4 Re4+ 43.Kf3 Qf5+ 44.Kg2]

41.Kf3 Rd4

42.Rxf7+! [The most expeditious]

42…Kxf7 43.Qf5+ Ke7 44.Qe5+ [The Rh1 will come into play and it’ll be mate].

1-0

Maxime’s games in Warsaw :

Maxime’s games in Bucharest :

A few months ago, Maxime played the truth game, which Chess.com has organized several times, as part of its « Lie Detector Chess » series. Two players are there, questioning each other under the supervision of an operator who determines whether the answer given to each question is true or false. This is an opportunity to see Maxime and his colleague and friend Levon Aronian compete in a series of tricky or amusing questions, most often related to the world of chess, of course, but sometimes also more personal.

A fascinating « moment of truth »!