Category: English

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 »!

The tournament season got off to a flying start with the Freestyle Chess Paris, second leg of an innovative Chess 960 circuit format that offered me a wildcard to join a field of 12 players. The venue was superb, in the heart of the Parc de Vincennes, the level of play very high, and I was looking forward to rubbing shoulders with a format that was still new to me.

Freestyle discovery

The tournament began with Rapid games in Chess960, followed by Classical games – a real novelty for me. Unlike traditional formats, the theoretical preparation here is non-existent. Less time spent working on variations… but more intensity during the games! You can easily consume 30 to 40 minutes on the very first moves, as they determine the rest of the game.

A convincing Rapid Qualifier

Having returned from the Austrian Team Championship that same morning (see box), I followed up with a rather intense media day in Vincennes. After a rather laborious first day in the Rapid format, and three very difficult first rounds, I managed to reverse the trend the following day, putting in a string of good performances and qualifying for the final phase without too many scares – but with a hint of luck, I must admit.

Eliminated by Caruana

In the quarter-finals, I had the « choice » between Caruana and Nakamura. A Cornelian choice, of course 😊. In the end, I opted for Caruana, but the match didn’t go as well as I’d hoped.

In the first game, I quickly lost the thread in the opening; despite a good good come-back in the middlegame and a clear advantage, I couldn’t conclude. In the second, an early strategic decision cost me dearly and I couldn’t recover. In Freestyle, there are always decisions that are difficult to make: do you keep the balance, or try something a little different because the pieces are not placed in the same way and this changes certain configurations, which are more natural in classical chess?

Ranking matches and tournament atmosphere

Eliminated from the race for first place, I faced Abdusattorov and then Erigaisi for the places of honor. The result was a win and a loss.

In terms of atmosphere, the tournament was really enjoyable, despite one small regret: the absence of an on-site audience, which would have added a nice extra energy. Fortunately, a few friends of mine were able to drop by, which I was delighted about.

Pre-game reflection: a point worth revisiting?

A word on the format: the 10 minutes of common reflection before each game is an interesting idea for the public, but it can detract from the variety of possibilities. Players often agree on similar openings, which limits creativity. In contrast, at the Freestyle Open in Germany which immediately followed, there was no such thing, and the openings were far more varied. I was even the only one to play 1.b4 in the last round!

6th place in Paris, followed by Karlsruhe

So I finished in 6th place in Paris, a fair result without being exceptional. The rapid part went well, but the Classical games revealed a few shortcomings – logical for a first-timer.

As I’ve just mentioned, we were then off to Karlsruhe for a very busy Open, with two games a day. An intense format, inevitably exhausting. A defeat in round 2 seriously compromised my chances. I reacted well, but on the last day, two draws instead of two victories deprived me of qualification for the next Grand Slam in Las Vegas (July 15-19).

Nothing’s lost though: an online qualifying tournament is planned, so I’m staying focused 😊.

Despite everything, the Karlsruhe Open was a great time: over 3,000 players, an electric atmosphere, lots of photos and autographs (even if I declined during the games!).

Here are some interesting positions from my games in the two Freestyle tournaments:

FREESTYLE PARIS

MVL-NAKAMURA

In this completely hopeless position for white, Hikaru missed the final touch 44…c6!, and checkmate by …b5+ and …Ra3 is absolutely unstoppable! But even after 44…axb4 45.h8=Q, it was still time to play 45…c6!. But Hikaru got the idea too late, and after 45…Ra3+? 46.Kb5 Rc3 47.Ka4 Ra3+ 48.Kb5 Rc3 49.Ka4 c6, white had the resource 50.Rb8+! Nxb8 51.Kxb4, and although the defense remains delicate, the chances of a draw are still there (1/2, 77 moves).

MVL-CARUANA

My position is very superior, and Fabiano went into survival mode with the move 22…f4. Unfortunately, I made a big miscalculation here with 23.gxf4? completely forgetting that 23…Nxf4! was possible, after which black exchanges Queens and relieves his position considerably (1/2, 43 moves).

ABDUSSATOROV-MVL

A remarkable game from the young Uzbek. 26.Bg6! the first of a series of four bishop moves on the same square, each time proving to be the only moves towards victory. A truly spectacular occurrence! 26…Ncd6 27.Ne4 Nxe4 28.Bxe8 Kf8!? (an ingenious defense because 29…Rxe8 30.Qg7+ or 29…Kxe8 30.Qg7 followed by 31.Rxd7 but…) 29.Bg6! (and two!) 29…f5 (29…Nc5 30.Rh3! Rg8 31.Rh7 or 30…Rxh3 31.Qxh3 and the Queen’s penetration is decisive) 30.Bxf5 Nf6 31.Qg5 Qxb2

32.Rd4! (decisively cutting off the black Queen’s return to defense) 32…Ne8 33.Bg6! (and three! Threatening, among others, 34.Qd8) 33…Qa3 34.Qe5 Rg8 35.Bxe8 Rc2 (35…Qf3 would have been met with the same response) 36.Bg6!. The final touch! The only winning move, but it forces resignation, since 36…Rxg6 37.Qb8+ leads to mate.

ABDUSSATOROV-MVL (Tie-breaker)

White is completely dominant and will win a pawn, but after 23…Ng4, you have to choose which one to take. 24.Qxc5? (wrong pick! Black had no compensation worthy of the pawn after the simple 24.Qxe4) 24…Rf5! (a cold shower. Black’s Queen can no longer control e3 and white has to give the exchange) 25.Qd6 Ne3 26.g3 and after a few more skirmishes, the game ended in a draw.

FREESTYLE KARLSRUHE

PASTAR (2359)-MVL

After resisting for a long time, the Bosnian IM finally collapsed! 58.Nh1? (after any move from the Ta1, everything was still to be done for black) 58…Rxd3! 59.Kxd3 Rb3+ 60.Ke2 (60.Kc2 Rxh3 61.d3 would have forced black to find 61…Rf3!, dominating the Nh1 and preventing any counterplay based on Rf1) 60…Bxe4 61.Nf2 Bf3+ 62.Ke1 e4 and the black steamroller wins (0-1, 76 moves).

FEUERSTACH (2458)-MVL

An example of a game that can go wrong right from the start!

1.0-0-0 g6 2.d4 f5 3.h4?! (a first step in the wrong direction) 3…c5! 4.g3? (abandoning the center won’t bring the expected results) 4…cxd4 5.f4 e5! 6.Qxb7? (white makes his case worse) 6…Nb6 7.e4 fxe4 8.Qxe4 Bd5 9.Qe2 Ne6! 10.fxe5 0-0 and white’s position is already a field of ruins (0-1, 19 moves).

MVL-MENDONCA (2643)

The game of the last round which, as is often the case in Opens, turns out to be decisive. Despite the symmetry, white is better as his pieces are more active, better developed, and black’s King is not completely serene on f7. But you have to be very precise to prevent black from equalizing. 21.Qc2? (and this move, played too quickly, is not precise! It was necessary to play 21.Qb2! which prevented liquidation, because if black reacts as in the game with 21…Ra8 22.a4 Ne6, he loses after 23.e4 Qc6 24.Nxe6 [which is not possible with the Queen on c2] 24…Qxe6 [24…Kxe6 25.Qb3+ Kd7 26.Qf7 and black King’s ride won’t end well] 25.Qxb7 Rxa4 26.Bc5 Rc4 27.Qa7 and Black won’t free himself from the pin. After 21.Qb2!, black should have defended an endgame a pawn down, which occurs after 21…Ne6 22.e4 Qc6 23.Qb3 b6 24.Nxe6 Qxe6 25.Qxe6+ Kxe6 26.Rb1!) 21…Ra8 22.a4 Ne6 23.Rd1 Qc6 24.Qb3 b6 25.Ne4 Qxa4! the move that had escaped me, and which forces an immediate draw after 26.Nd6+ Kf8 27.Qxa4 Rxa4 28.Bxb6.

It’s impossible to conclude these lines on Freestyle without highlighting the historic performance of Magnus Carlsen, who won both tournaments (that’s routine 😊 ), and who achieved an extraordinary 9/9 in the Karlsruhe Open; superlatives are in short supply…

And now: back to the Grand Chess Tour

Next stop for me: the Grand Chess Tour. Back to « normal chess », with the Warsaw Rapid & Blitz (April 26-30), followed by a Classical tournament in Bucharest (May 7-16). This is one of my main objectives of the year, with the obvious aim of finishing in the top 3 of the circuit and, why not, finally winning the GCT, after so many second places over the last 10 years!

Maxime’s games in Paris :

Maxime’s games in Karlsruhe :

Just before starting his sequence of Freestyle tournaments, Maxime had spent a few days in Carinthia, in the south of Austria, to compete in the final phase of the National Team Championship. He and his comrades from the Linz club won the competition for the third year running, this time by a considerable margin. It has to be said that, with a team including Mvl, Mamedyarov, Maghsoodloo, Sarana, Esipenko and Bacrot, the bar was set far too high for the competitors. However, aware that his team was open to criticism, Club Director and President of the Austrian Chess Federation, Michael Stöttinger, decided to withdraw it from the competition next season. Stöttinger pointed out, though, that his team had been « built around GM’s who were old friends ».

The first quarter of the year, as is often the case, was very quiet for Maxime. Things will get serious again in April (see Agenda), with a particularly busy schedule.

In the meantime, here is a new, lighter video in which Maxime discusses the somewhat ancillary aspects of the life of a world-class chess player.

At the start of 2025, the latest chess news is overflowing with information and advanced developments.

A new and young world champion, new game formats, an undeniable appeal; chess seems to have entered a new era and undergone a real makeover.

Is this really the case? What are the real strengths of this ancient game, and the potential obstacles?

Maxime gives us his analysis of the situation.

MY DECEMBER

A look back at December, which was a busy month in terms of Rapid and Blitz games, with the Champions Chess Tour Finals in Oslo, followed by the Rapid and Blitz World Championships in New York. I was obviously highly motivated, with a stated goal of winning one of the three. It’s fair to say that I didn’t achieve my goal, and not by a long shot 😊. The main cause, and this was even more glaring in the Blitz, was the profusion of miscalculations. This was something we had already noticed at the London Blitz tournament the previous week.

In this normal position at the end of the opening, I played the terrible 14.Bd2?, completely forgetting 14…Nd3 with a double attack on the Re1 and the b2-pawn.

And these unusual miscalculations were repeated throughout the month, as well as a few stunning errors of judgment…

So, during the Champions Chess Tour semi-final against Magnus in Oslo, I had a rather new and surprising experience. I had the feeling that I fought on equal terms in positional play and piece placement, which I must admit is quite rare 😊. But on the other hand, in terms of pure tactics, I was completely dominated, which is also very unusual!

In this game, I had obtained a clearly winning position, and I could probably have avoided this endgame, which poses real conversion problems. But that was no reason to play the inept 47.Nxc6? Nxc6 48.c5, and with the blockade on c6 unbreakable, the position is completely drawn.

Those who followed my tournament in New York will have noticed that these miscalculations were particularly flagrant on the Blitz day, which qualified only the top 8 players for the finals. And I was never able to get into the race because of these really serious errors, at least by my usual standards. The second day of the Rapid also went badly from that point of view, but it was less obvious.

To date, I don’t know what conclusion to draw, but in any case, I’m obviously thinking about it with my whole team. It’s a negative point that was very important at the end of the season, and one that absolutely must be resolved in 2025.

END-OF-YEAR POLEMICS

On the subject of the FIDE Dress Code, I’ve already had the opportunity to express my views in various interviews. For good or for bad – and I have been quite active in the discussions about it in the past few years – the dress code rules for this year were explained in advance, including the fact that you would not be paired after a second offense. I’m not a fan of the ban of jeans and sneakers, but there is a logic behind it : to not have to sort on the day which jeans and sneakers are acceptable for the event and which ones are not. Once I’ve said all this, the rules in place should apply for everyone, and that is what happened, as FIDE, the chief arbiter and Magnus Carlsen remained principled. The public aftermath was a bit  unfortunate to my taste, but at the same time, in every sport where there is a controversial decision e.g. Djokovic being disqualified in US Open 2020, it also generally leads to debates and serious media coverage.

As for sharing the world title in Blitz, I’ll be even more explicit: I don’t like it. Once again, it’s not something you see in other sports. Especially since, in this case, there was still plenty of time to decide between the players. We were only three games into the tie-break. I’d have been more understanding if, for example, after eight tie-breaking games, or even after six, i.e. 1.5 hours and an overall day of 7 or 8 hours, the players still hadn’t broken the tie. I could accept that in this case, the « we’re of equal strength today » aspect could be put forward, why not? But this was early and I don’t understand why FIDE accepted it. Nor do I understand why Magnus, who loves the sport so much, even proposed this deal. For Ian, of course, it’s a bit different. In a way, he’s in a bit of a bind. If he turns it down and loses, he looks really stupid. I don’t want to blame Magnus unnecessarily either, because sometimes, in the heat of the moment, you lose your lucidity…

But it leaves a bitter taste from a spectator’s point of view, in the sense that really, it could have been a pretty legendary, pretty epic end to the match. I’m thinking of the last football World Cup final between France and Argentina, which went to penalty shoot-out and became a legend after France were trailing 0-2 (just like Ian!) and equalized at the very end.

LET’S LOOK AHEAD TO 2025

New for 2025, there are two fresh circuits! Before that, of course, there’s the return of the Candidates qualification cycle, as in every odd-numbered year. We’re a little short of information on dates and locations, although I hope things will soon settle down. I’ve once again qualified for the Grand Chess Tour, which starts at the end of April, thanks to my third-place finish last year. We also have the Champions Chess Tour, which is back once again, but in a slightly different form, with only two online qualifying tournaments, and a 16-player final to be played as part of the Esport World Cup (EWC) in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), from July 31 to August 3. And of course, the brand-new 26-player FreeStyle Chess circuit, with its cycle of five tournaments, among them the first one in Germany (February), and the second in Paris (April). After the Speed Chess finals last September, it’s great to see chess back at the highest level in France.

So it’s true that it’s going to be a very busy year, but if I find my form and come back well, I think I’ve got every chance of competing with the best!

Maxime’s games in London:

Maxime’s games at the Champion Chess Tour Finals:

Maxime’s games at the World Rapid:

Maxime’s games at the World Blitz:

In addition to the aforementioned London blitz tournament, in which Maxime took second place behind Firoujza, the chief organizer of British chess, Malcolm Pein, put up a blindfold tournament with 10 players, including the best English, such as Adams, Vitiugov, Mc Shane and Jones, as well as Mamedyarov and Vidit. Blindfold play is one of Maxime’s strong points, and he considered himself a favorite for the tournament. And rightly so, since he won quite easily at a time control that suited him very well, namely 10+5. The competition took place on computers, in front of empty chessboards.