Maxime under the microscope

Mvl, it’s the others who talk about him best…

Taking advantage of the lacklustre news at the start of the year, we asked five of his compatriots, leading figures on the French chess scene, to give us a slightly personal insight into Maxime.

Here are 5 themes, presented by :

Eric BIRMINGHAM (FM, Maxime’s first coach)

Eric Birmingham

Eloi RELANGE (GM, President of the French Chess Federation)

Eloi Relange

Pauline GUICHARD (GMF, Maxime’s club and French team-mate – gynecologist)

Pauline Guichard

Marc LLARI (CM, U8 world champion in 2022)

Marc Llari

Manuel AESCHLIEMANN (Mayor of Asnières, Maxime’s club town)

Manuel Aeschlimann

Your very first personal memory of Maxime:

Eric BIRMINGHAM

A little guy is taking my group course for youngsters in Créteil for the first time. He raises his finger, suggests a move and a variation. He’s got it! « Damned » I say to myself, he can barely see over his table! The kid’s only five. I ask him his first name: « Je m’appelle Maxime »…

Eloi RELANGE

When Maxime was very young, I didn’t play in the same competitions as he did, so I didn’t get the chance to meet him then. But of course, I’d heard about this little kid with a growing reputation, whom urban legend presented as a potential world champion. When you don’t see it with your own eyes, this kind of prediction always makes you smile a little, but it turned out to be absolutely right!

As for the first time I saw Maxime, it was much later…

Pauline GUICHARD

The first time we competed in the same French Youth Championship was, I think, in 1999. But my first real memory of him was in 2002 at the French Youth Championship in Hyères. He was 11 years old and playing in the U16 section; he was vastly outclassed and still won that year.

Maxime in 2002

What I remember most is that he was so small, it was quite funny compared to the 16-year-old boys… And that’s when I said to myself: “That’s impressive, he’s really, really good!

Marc LLARI

At the French Youth Championship in April 2023, as I was heading towards the stage to play, Maxime was in the middle of an autograph photo session just in front of the stairs, so we took a photo together before the round.

Manuel AESCHLIMANN

When we asked Maxime to play for the Asnières Chess Club. For such a young club, it seemed a little pretentious to ask a player of this level. On the contrary, Maxime responded with kindness and humility. I knew it was going to work out well.

A personal anecdote with Maxime:

Eric BIRMINGHAM

At a trophy ceremony in Cannes, in the south of France, Maxime and I are strolling through the town; Maxime is seven or eight years old. We find ourselves in a rather chic shopping street. I stop in front of a window displaying luxury watches. The little boy and I look at the prices, and burst out laughing. Despite his very young age, Maxime has his feet firmly on the ground; he’s perfectly aware of the value of everyday things. For a good hour, we looked at jewelry, watches, dresses, etc., which cost more than his father’s car! (and Patrick, his daddy, had a good car!). During that hour, despite our huge age difference, we were in symbiosis in the face of these oddities of consumer society, and we laughed a lot.

Maxime in 2000

Eloi RELANGE

I’ve had the opportunity to play blitz against Maxime several times in recent years, and each time I was winning in the first game, though of course I lost them all! I remember he was in real trouble in the opening, particularly against the Philidor. But systematically, he came back from these frankly desperate positions. Okay, one time it was in a bar, another time at the home of an elected member of the FFE, and a third time elsewhere. And then I have to admit that, as always when there’s a big difference in level, you give it your all in the first game, he’s not so hot, so you hold out pretty well, but the following games, it’s not the same story at all!

As for the one time I played against Maxime in a classical game, I had white and had prepared against the Grünfeld, since at the time, that was all he played (French Team Championship 2012). So I looked for particularly solid variations and in the end, he played a Queen’s Indian! I was very happy, because I thought he wouldn’t know this kind of position so well, and what’s more, I had good results in this variation. But as it turned out, he gradually grinded the advantage and I couldn’t do anything about it. As a result, the solid, innocuous white opening gave me a completely hopeless position at move 36, in which I lost on time.

La partie :

Pauline GUICHARD

In fact, the few times I played against Maxime were at parties! But I remember beating him in the first, or one of the very first games, even though I must admit he always played with 30 seconds and I with 3 minutes! But I prefer to keep the simple memory of having beaten Maxime once…

Marc LLARI

On the last day of the Rapid World Team championship in Düsseldorf (August 2023), we went to a restaurant with the whole team.

I was opposite Maxime and he proposed a riddle with a rabbit hidden in a box containing 6 cages. I had to suggest the cage where the rabbit was hiding and find it in as few moves as possible. It kept me thinking all through the meal!

Manuel AESCHLIMANN

Whenever Maxime takes part in an event in Asnières and there’s press, the media always ask me to play a few moves against him on a chessboard, just so they can film the exchange. It’s frustrating to stop once the catch has been made, after ten or so moves. This must be the sixth or seventh unfinished game we’ve played like this. That said, I’ve got an idea of how it would end if we went all the way…

A game or a moment in his career that stood out for you:

Eric BIRMINGHAM

In 2009, Maxime played a Najdorf in Biel against Alexander Morozevitch. This game is crazy. I didn’t understand it at the time (which didn’t stop me from showing it to my students in class… My God, I’m a fraud!). I went through it again before writing these lines. I still don’t understand anything (this game is really too difficult). I never asked Maxime: “If there had been a doping test after this game, would it have been positive?“.

La partie :

Eloi RELANGE

There are two moments that stand out in my mind. The first was when he beat Naiditsch in a French Team Championship match between Evry and Clichy in 2009. I wasn’t playing that match, and I was able to witness this fantastic Najdorf won against a Naiditsch in top form at the time, and very hard to play with white (2700, #31 in the world in 2009). And Maxime beat him with black as if he were a tourist!

La partie :

Like many others, I also remember the 2021 World Blitz championship final against Duda, which I watched with my family at home!

La partie :


With my three children jumping up and down shouting “Maxime, Maxime!”; so, apart from the exceptional performance of this first world champion title for a Frenchman, it was also an extremely enjoyable family moment for me!

Pauline GUICHARD

Without hesitation for me, it’s his 2021 World Blitz championship title in Warsaw. I wasn’t in Poland that year because I was too busy at the office at the time. But I remember very clearly that I couldn’t follow the end of the tournament because I was at the cinema with friends; there were 5 or 6 rounds left and I had to turn my phone off. When I turned it back on at the end of the film, I saw that he’d just beaten Carlsen

La partie :

, and was about to start the tie-break blitz against Duda! So I followed these games with my friends, who weren’t chess players at all and didn’t really understand my excitement at the time! I don’t remember the film I saw at all, but I do remember feeling very emotional when Maxime won; I was really happy for him…

Marc LLARI

His Blitz victory over Magnus Carlsen at the 2023 World Blitz Championship, when Maxime sent 5 pawns against 2 on the Queenside in the endgame!

La partie :

Manuel AESCHLIMANN

I’m not being very original, but I’d say it was his title of Blitz World Champion. Beyond the chess analyses relating his remarkable career, it was above all the recognition and media coverage he received from the general public that impressed me. The game of chess has suddenly become popular again in our country. A well-deserved consecration.

Imagine what Maxime will do after his career:

Eric BIRMINGHAM

MVL is an immense champion, perhaps the most fabulous calculator on the planet. But Maxime is also a nice guy, very sociable and kind-hearted. I can imagine him running a great restaurant (he loves good food), going from table to table with a kind word for everyone. Every now and then, a customer would tell him about Carlsen or Nakamura. And our 64-square Tartarin would tell a story or two. But, unlike Daudet’s hero, everything the old champion would say would be true!

Eloi RELANGE

Already, I imagine he won’t be doing what Kramnik is doing, namely focusing on chess cheating with questionable statistics!

I don’t see him as president of the federation either, because that doesn’t seem to me to be very promising for him; even though I think he’d make a very good president because he’s got a good grasp of things, as well as a very strong embodiment. And I find it hard to imagine him outside chess… Maybe in strategy consulting for some firms, but I’m not convinced he’d like it.

Pauline GUICHARD

Maxime is a big fan of games and sports, so I could see him as a sports commentator, rather specialized in NBA basketball. Or maybe, in the soccer world, he’d be the announcer for Olympique Lyonnais at Groupama Stadium 😊.

Groupama Stadium – Lyon

Marc LLARI

Wild boar hunter – Stone cutter – Ladybird breeder?

Or an Artificial Intelligence programmer for chess analysis engines!

Manuel AESCHLIMANN

First of all, I imagine and hope that the “after-career” is not on the agenda any time soon. Maxime still has plenty of victories to achieve, and great challenges await him for many years to come.

However, one day, I can see him as a web influencer on new technologies, with his phlegm and cold humor. He’d do wonders.

Bonus :

Reveals a little-known facet of Maxime’s personality or Find a joke to make him laugh

Eric BIRMINGHAM

People forget: as a teenager, Maxime was painfully shy. He managed to overcome this shortcoming relatively quickly. Beneath his somewhat debonair exterior, this gentle boy possesses a will of steel.

Eloi RELANGE

An interesting facet of Maxime’s personality is the fact that he’s extremely smiley, friendly and approachable, but in reality, in discussions, he always pauses to deliver an in-depth response. In fact, he really goes beyond the obvious little retort, and that’s what contrasts with his super warm side that everyone who approaches him sees and feels. I find this paradox quite amusing.

Pauline GUICHARD

I don’t know if this is a little-known aspect of his personality, and maybe people suspect it?

Chess is perceived more as an individual sport, but in reality, there are many team competitions. And what I find impressive about Maxime is his team spirit. Of all the top players I know, especially the French, he’s the only one with such a spirit. He’s always going all out, whether it’s with the French team or with Asnières. He’s really a leader and a driving force. And what I like about him is that he’s often under a lot of pressure because people expect results from him and, as far as I can remember, he’s almost always there!

Marc LLARI

I don’t have a joke, but I do have a riddle to get back at him for the riddle he gave me in Düsseldorf!

Why do rabbits only play with 39 cards, not 52?

Because they eat the clovers!

Maxime’s riddle:
A rabbit moves along a corridor of 6 rooms, each with its own door. Each turn, you have the right to open a door to discover the rabbit. If you haven’t discovered the rabbit, once you’ve closed the door, the rabbit moves one room to the right or left (of course, if it’s at the end of the corridor, it can only move in one direction next turn). How many turns do you need to find the rabbit?

Manuel AESCHLIMANN

Blague nulle :

Lame joke:

I gave my daughter a fridge for her birthday. I can’t wait to see her face light up when she opens it.

MVL man of (his) word(s)

Mvl with Fabiano Caruna in the C24 podcast.

At the start of 2024, Maxime had the opportunity to talk at length about a number of topical issues in the world of chess.

In French on the Blitzstream channel, and in English on Fabiano Caruana’s podcast. The format of the world championship cycle, the Champions Chess Tour, the future of classical games, draw proposals, managing nerves and the clock at top level, and many other topics and anecdotes are on the program of these two (long) broadcasts.

In English:

In French:

40 days in North America

North america

I arrived early in the United States, where I spent a few days running simultaneous displays in the New York area, before heading to Saint Louis, where I had time to accomodate before the traditional Rapid & Blitz and the Sinquefield Cup following it. The line-up was fairly familiar, except that in the Rapid & Blitz, there were a few American players who don’t get the chance to play this type of tournament very often, notably Sam Sevian, Ray Robson and Le Quang Liem (who is Vietnamese, but lives in the USA). It was fun, and the field was a little more varied than usual, more like that of the US championship.

In the Rapid tournament, I finished undefeated (8 draws and one win), which is perhaps a first for me in a 9-round rapid! Even so, there were a few missed opportunities, and a few topsy turvy games that could have gone either way.

In blitz, I had a very good first day and a very bad second, eventually finishing 2nd behind Caruana ; which didn’t satisfy me at the time, but it was nonetheless a good operation if you take into consideration qualifying for next year’s Grand Chess Tour (the top three finishers automatically qualify). My ticket was then validated at the Sinquefield Cup with 8 draws (following Duda’s withdrawal after the first round). It was a bit of a dull tournament, I admit, but it was important to secure qualification before anything else, and each draw brought me a little closer to it.

Thanks to a combination of circumstances and favorable results, I even took second place in the final Grand Chess Tour ranking.

After a few days’ rest in Florida, it was off to Toronto for the final of the Champions Chess Tour, with a very impressive and highly competitive field of eight players. The format was 2 rapid games with an eventual Armageddon, which left little room for error. To put it in a nutshell, my overall performance was pretty dreadful, reinforced by the fact that in the Armageddon games, I accumulated a famously low total of 1/6, for a final 6th place (out of 8).

Here are some interesting sequences from my games on the American continent:

Rapid & blitz St-Louis

Mvl – So (Blitz, round 7) : 1-0

An anti-Marshall I played at the Grand Swiss against Durarbayli, with the idea of 16.h4, which was a bit of a novelty. It’s not necessarily the best move, but it’s blitz and asks questions to black.

The important thing for me was to keep the initiative, which I managed to do on the Kingside.

The computer isn’t convinced, because black has an extra pawn, the Bishop pair and the passed c4-pawn, but in practice it’s really not easy.

Black is objectively better, with more possibilities, but I was confident because it’s still very complex and I was playing well that day. So I was ready to take more risks, and it showed in the game.

Here, 28…Rd8? gives White the opportunity to play 29.Nf5 Bf8 30.Qc1. After 30…Bc8 31.Qg5 f6, I sensed something was up, but I only saw the perpetual for a while, then after 30 seconds, I got the lightning! 32.Nh6+ Kh8 33.Ne5! Rd7 (the best defense) 34.Nef7+ Rxf7 35.Nxf7+ Kg8 36.Nh6+ (I hesitated for a moment with 36.Qh4 Kxf7 37.e5 which was also tempting) 36…Kh8 37.Qf4! gxh6 38.Qxf6+.

Here, Wesley played the normal 38…Bg7? 39.Qd8+ Qf8 40.Qxc7 Bg4 and I could have concluded with 41.f3! Bd4+ 42.Kh1 without fearing 42…Bxf3+ 43.gxf3 Qxf3+ 44.Rg2 and black’s Queen would only have one or two consolation checks remaining. But I played 41.Re3? allowing 41…Bd4! 42.e5 Nd7 43.e6 Bxe3 44.fxe3 Nf6 which I had assessed as winning in my head, but which in reality squandered the advantage, as indicated by the machine’s 0.00! Fortunately in the game, I was able to advance my e-pawn after 41…Nd7? 42.e5 Qf4 43.Qd8+ Nf8 44.e6 Bh5 45.e7 1-0, and record a high-flying blitz victory!

But the story isn’t over because there was a draw out of nowhere for black in the diagrammed position: after 38…Kg8 39.Re3 Bg4! and I couldn’t have used the g-file because there’s always …h5.

In the second day of blitz, I won only once, against Alireza, and I even shook despite an extra piece and 2 minutes against 10 seconds on the clock! Before the last round, somewhat miraculously I admit, I was just half a point behind Fabiano, so the calculations were easy 😊.

En mode décontracté avec les copains ! (Image : GCT).
Hanging out with the boyz! (Image: GCT).

Caruana – Mvl (Blitz, round 18) : ½

I had to score with black in order to win the tournament (and a draw was obviously enough for Fabiano); but I also had to be careful not to lose, so as not to risk my place on the Grand Chess Tour podium! So I had to remain capable of drawing at all times. In a Queen’s Gambit Accepted reached after a funny move order, he didn’t exchange the Queens, which he could have done early enough and might have saved him some trouble. I managed to get my pieces in place, but there was no obvious way to progress. Nevertheless, I pushed hard and managed to win a pawn. But in this endgame, playing almost on the increment, we both made mistakes, but it was me who made the last one!

Here, 56.Ra7+ Kg6 57.Re7 preserved the pawn and should have led to a draw, but Fabiano panicked and played 56.e5? fxe5 57.Bd2. Here, I wanted to play 57…Rh3, but for some reason I decided to go to e2 and as I dropped the piece there, I realized that my Rook was trapped after 57…Re2? 58.Kd3.

As a result, Fabiano drew the game and won the tournament.

Sinquefield Cup

Giri – Mvl (round 4) : ½

Anish managed to surprise me with a specific variation (7.Re1) of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted. As he told me after the game, he spent an enormous amount of time on this position, not expecting it to arrive on the board, but thinking that if it did, he could put on maximum pressure.

He was hoping I wouldn’t find 18…Rc7, which was a really important move to regain control of the c-file, otherwise his Knight would eventually land on c5. With white’s Rook on c1, my Ra7 wouldn’t have had much future, for example 18…Rd8?! 19.Be4 Kf7 20.Rac1 followed by 21.Nb3 and it becomes very complicated to defend.

Anish was still in his preparation after 19.h3 Nh6 20.Bxe6 Bxe6 21.Nd4 Rc6 22.Nxc6+ Nxc6 23.Rac1 Rc8. The difficulty in these monster preparations, as we are well aware of, is to remember everything. Here he knew there was f4 somewhere. He looked superficially at the move 24.f4? right now, saw no problem and played it; admittedly, it seems to prevent 24…Nf5 because of 25.g4 and 26.f5. He figured I’d have to move my King, but on f7 there’s 25.Ne4 aiming for d6, and if I have to play 24…f5, then my Nh6 is offside. Except that I had anticipated that 24…Nf5! is actually possible, because if 25.g4 Nfd4 26.f5, I have the nice 26…Ne5! and if 27.fxe6? Rxc1!.

What he didn’t remember was that f4 had to be preceded by 24.Rc5! Nf7 and now 25.f4 with an a nice advantage.

Afterwards, I saw all the possibilities he had to force a draw and he didn’t choose any of them. I think he still believed he was better, and wanted to increase the pressure. Quite surprised, I played what seemed to me to be the logical moves, and began to think that I had quite a bit of initiative!

I saw that he could still force the draw (for example 30.Nf3 should be enough), but he didn’t and chose 30.Ne4 instead. I was beginning to think I might have real winning chances 😊.

After 30…N8c6 31.Rxa6?, I saw that 31…Bd5 was a move, but I figured I had time and preferred 31…Rxb2?. After 31…Bd5! I understood I would probably be more than fine, but I didn’t think I’d win at all. As far as I was concerned, Anish was still looking for a win, since he could already have forced a draw three or four times. In fact, as he’d missed many of my moves since 24…Nf5, he was terrified to see all my pieces come out and my attack become hyper-strong. As for me, I could see that I had an attack, but also only two pawns left on the board 😊. Of course, my pieces coordinate well, but I thought that, at worst, he could give away a piece and draw; so I might as well take the b2 pawn first… But in fact, I only realized after the game how crucial the move 31…Bd5! was, allowing the attack to break through in force; I’m threatening 32…Ne2+, but also …f5 or …Kf5 as the case may be.

After 31…Txb2?, Anish thought hard and came up with the sequence 32.f5+! Bxf5 33.Nd6, and instead of continuing to apply pressure with 33…Bd3 or 33…Bd7, I played 33…Bxh3+?! a little too quickly. My idea was that after 34.gxh3 Nf3+ 35.Kf1 Nh2+ 36.Kg1, I’d play 36…Nd4. Unfortunately, I realized too late that after 37.Re3 Ndf3+ 38.Kh1, there was nothing left! So I repeated the position and accepted the draw.

A game that petered out real quick, which is even more obvious after analyzing it in detail…

Classement final du Grand Chess Tour 2023 (image : GCT).
2023 Grand Chess Tour final rankings (image: GCT).

Toronto, 2023 Champions Chess Tour Final

Mvl – So (Armageddon, round 3) : ½

Between games, we had no time, and in any case no access to computers, so preparation was very limited 😊. In this tie-break, I decided to play 1.c4 by feel. I think I negotiated the opening rather well and got a playable position. What’s more, Wesley didn’t have much time on the clock (he’d bid less than 9′ against 15), so I thought I had a good chance. Then I forgot a two-move sequence for black, after which I immediately found myself in trouble. Nevertheless, I found some resources and arrived at the following position:

Here, I was quite happy because I’m threatening 25.Bxg7 as well as 25.a4. Now he played 24…f6? and I spent all my time on 25.Bxf6 gxf6 26.Nf4 variation, which I couldn’t make work. And I forgot that 25.a4! was even a possibility; an option that was almost winning after 25…Qc4 (25…Qb3 26.Nc5) 26.Nf4 Qb3 and now 27.Bxf6!. I then went back to 25.Bxf6? gxf6 26.Qxf6 after quite a long thought, and finally played this line. Unfortunately, I forgot that after 26…Qf5 27.Qxh6, there’s 27…Bc3! which seals the deal, and my attack flounders.

Somewhat miraculously, Wesley left me some small practical chances with Rook, Knight and 3 pawns against Queen and Rook, which is obviously objectively lost.

But it’s an Armaggedon and there’s no time added before the 61st move, and it’s only a one-second increment from there. Little by little, I managed to organize myself, to advance my pawns. I pushed them as far as I could, even if my King became a little vulnerable. I sensed that he wasn’t very serene. But it’s too hard to create real threats with this material imbalance, and I really did what I could under the circumstances.

Here he found 73…Rxg4 74.Kxg4 Qg6+ to stop my pawn avalanche and guarantee the draw.

This game, and even more so the one before it which I lost with white when all I needed was a draw, knocked me on the head, and was undoubtedly a turning point in the tournament.

Mvl – Nakamura (Armageddon, losers brackets)

Then I had my last chance against Nakamura. We repeated what we’d played in the first Armageddon of the round robin. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember the details, as I thought he’d move on to another line. The start of the game was clearly bad for me…

Here, I thought of 21.b3, which didn’t satisfy me. So I played 21.a4, but immediately saw that 21…c6! could be very strong. After 22.b3, he had the sequence 22…Bb4+! 23.c3 Qxb3 24.cxb4 Bc8!. A not-so-hidden point objectively, even if this kind of diagonal retreat move is always difficult; in any case, it was missed by both of us 😊.
After 22…Bg7? 23.Rb1? (23.c3 first was compulsory, you can’t leave the d4 square to black’s Bishop) 23…Rhe8 24.Qc4, miraculously, he played 24…Qa5+? a little too quickly, which left me with a huge opportunity (24…Bd4! was extremely strong, with the idea 25…Be3+). After 25.b4! I suddenly felt better. Then I missed out on a few probably superior options, but still got the following beautiful position:

I played 30.Ra1? a tempo here because it was the move I had already planned. Obviously, if 30…Qxe4? I have 31.Rxb5+ Ka8 32.Rxa7+ and I mate. The idea was also that if he exchanged on c3, I’d take back with the Knight and regain b5. But I missed his excellent 30…Rd5! 31.Qa5?? and even though we both missed the mate in 6 that follows 31…Rxd3+!, he played 31…Rd7, kept everything under control and forced a draw from a strong position. Too bad I didn’t take the time to find the simple 30.Qxe5+! Rxe5 31.Nf6 Rxe1 32.Rxb5+ Kc7 33.Kxe1 followed by 34.Rxg5 with a completely winning endgame, which would have given me another chance in the tournament…

In any case, given my level of play, even if I’d won that game, it would have been more of a reprieve than anything else (even if you’re never safe from a good surprise 😊). But it still hurts. This game is a reflection of my performance in the tournament, a rather poor time management throughout, as I really played too fast, and difficulties in the Armageddon games that were glaring.

The year 2023 was a bad one from the perspective of then World rankings, because I was hoping for a rebound of my Elo, which didn’t materialize.

In terms of titles, I won the AI Cup and the Tata Steel India in Rapid, which is still a pretty big achievement, as are my 3 victories over Magnus Carlsen.

For the rest, in classical games, there was a lack of reference tournaments; the World Cup ended too soon. And as for the 2 classic Grand Chess Tour tournaments (Bucharest and Sinquefield Cup), the overall results were fairly neutral, with a lot of draws (+1, -1, =15 on the whole).

But quite a lot has been done in 2023, and although it’s sometimes gone wrong, I’m still quite optimistic about next year. Apart from the Leagues, I’ll have some time without a major tournament between January and April, which will allow me to work on what I still need to improve so that I’m really ready for a big 2024 season.

Next up, the Rapid & Blitz World Championships, to be held December 26-30 in Samarkand (Uzbekistan). I’m still counting on this last event of 2023, so see you in the next episode 😊.

Maxime’s games in St Louis (the Sinquefield Cup):

Maxime’s rapid games in St Louis:

Maxime’s blitz games in St Louis:

Maxime’s games in Toronto (Champions Chess Tour Final):


Statement from Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Let’s be frank: the series of last-minute, tailor-made mini-matches organized in Chartres for Alireza (Firoujza), with the clear aim of qualifying him for the Candidates, does not correspond to my sporting values. However, I do wonder about the outcry this is causing when similar tournaments have been set up to help other players qualify for the Candidates – sometimes successfully so – without causing such a stir, and even without any reaction from the highest authorities. Suspicions of fixed games have even arisen, but as with accusations of cheating, we’d have to have the evidence to back them up. Of course, I’m counting on Laurent Freyd, the on-site referee, and the various authorities, to check that the games played in Chartres respect the integrity of the game.

In my opinion, this unpleasant situation is above all the result of a serious error of FIDE in the construction and wording of its rules. It is these shortcomings that offer players the opportunity to exploit loopholes, and this problem must be resolved as quickly as possible with a view to the next world championship cycle.

Without going back over the ways of qualifying for the Candidates, it would make sense to take into account the Elo performance of the year rather than the Elo rating at a given moment, or the average Elo of the year, which is mathematically unfair. Of course, it would then be necessary to impose clear rules enabling tournaments to be taken into account for the calculation of this annual Elo performance, which would be, for example, a calendar of tournaments set up at the beginning of the year; with perhaps the possibility of adding competitions up to 3 months before the end of the year, by dispensation.

Note that this would in no way affect the calculation of the current Elo ranking.

For many years now, with each qualification cycle, we have seen the rules changed and controversy accumulate. This has to stop, and in my opinion, the creation of a special commission to scrutinize qualification methods for the Candidates would certainly not be a luxury, but rather a necessity imposed by circumstances.

Grand Swiss, poor shape

Grand Swiss

The result of this tournament is of course a disappointment, as it was most likely my last shot at this World Championship cycle, and I couldn’t make the most of it (14-27th at 6.5/11).

When I arrived on the Isle of Man, I didn’t anticipate it was going to be so complicated for me physically. Because, unfortunately, I arrived sick, physically weak and with a constant cough. Although I’m not looking for excuses, it’s obvious that this was detrimental to my results in the first half of the tournament (2/5). And in such cases, unfortunately, there’s not much you can do…

But the truth is, if I take a step back, I have to say that not qualifying for the Candidates wasn’t really down to this tournament. In any case, my form over the first half of 2023 was really too erratic. As a result, I found myself out of the running for the Fide Circuit spot, and with a rating that made it virtually impossible to qualify by Elo: two of the four paths to the Candidates were therefore closed to me from the outset…

Let’s forget about the stakes for a moment, and revisit some interesting moments from my games on the Isle of Man!

Analyse avec les collègues (Esipenko, Maghsoodloo et Tari) (Photo : Fide).

Analysing with colleagues (Esipenko, Maghsoodloo and Tari) (Photo: Fide).

Round 1 : Gledura (2633) – MVL 1/2

Here, I made a mistake by playing 21…Ra4?. I had calculated many lines where I sacrificed an exchange and thought I had enough compensation, but each time the computer indicates +1 or +2! Gledura could have taken the advantage with 22.c4!. I didn’t believe in this move because I missed the very strong 22…Rxc4 23.Qa2!, for example 23…Rxd5 24.Qxc4 and the compensations seem insufficient.

So it would have been better if I’d chosen the first move I’d considered, namely 21…Ba6 22.Rf2 Bc4 23.Bxa8 Rxd2 24.Bxd2. I wanted to continue here with 24…Bd3 (idea …c4 then …Qa5), but after 25.Ra1 c4 26.Be3 I thought white was better, as I can no longer play …Qa5, while both Bishops will be perfectly anchored on d4 and d5.

Admittedly, after 24.Bxd2, the machine indicates 24…Qg4! with the idea …h5-h4, and estimates that Black has enough play. But honestly, this isn’t the kind of line a human GM will willingly enter…

Round 5 : Saric (2647) – MVL 1-0

Clearly my worst game of the tournament, peppered with mistakes. The Knight’s endgame is much more complex than the computer’s assessment (0.00 😊) suggests, as it doesn’t take into account how difficult it is for black to defend.

Here we had just passed move 40, and I thought long and hard before playing the horrible 41…Kc7? based on a huge miscalculation. First of all, I spent some time trying to find a clear path to the draw by not giving ground to white’s King and playing a Knight move, like 41…Nf4 or 41…Nc7. Having seen nothing crystal-clear, I was drawn to 41…Kc7? on the basis of the variation 42.Ke5 f4 43.Ne6+ Kb6 44.Nxf4? Nxf4 45.Kxf4 Kb5 and the pawn endgame is drawn. Unfortunately, I completely missed 44.Nd4! and black is in zugzwang; the Knight can’t move because of the f4 pawn, and if black’s King retreats, b5! wins. A big blunder on my part, which perfectly reflects my level of form in the early rounds…

Qui va là ? (Photo : Anna Shtourman).
Who goes there? (Photo: Anna Shtourman).

Round 6 : MVL – Idani (2633) 1-0

White’s position is preferable, but you have to take quick action to break through. In fact, I realized that I didn’t really have a choice, and was forced to play 20.Bxf5 exf5 21.e6! Qxe6 (21…fxe6 22.Qe5! shows the vulnerability of the c5 pawn) 22.Rfe1 Qxe2 23.Rxe2+ Kd7 24.Rae1. Despite the opposite-colored Bishops, the situation is tricky for black. The Fb7 is pretty, but hits the air; all endgames lose. For example 24…Rhe8 25.Rxe8 Rxe8 26.Rxe8 Kxe8 27.Bxc5 is absolutely hopeless – not all opposite-colored Bishops endgames are drawn 😊.

In the game, after 24…Kc6 25.Re7 a4 26.R1e5, the pressure quickly became too much.

Round 7 : Nguyen Thai Dai Van (2618) – MVL 0-1

In this chaotic position, I was expecting 26.Ned4, and I had planned 26…Rxd4 27.Nxd4 Qxd4 28.Qxe6 Bg5 29.Bf1 Qg4, but after 30.h3, the position is not clear at all. Fortunately, he played 26.Nfd4? Bg5 27.Qxe6, which runs into the intermediate move 27…Qb7! 28.f3 Be3+ and white won’t have enough play for the piece.

Pendant la partie contre Pichot… (Photo : Maria Emelianova)
During the game against Pichot… (Photo: Maria Emelianova).

Round 8 : MVL – Pichot (2650) 1-0

Black’s last move 17…Nb6 may look strange, as it seems to be abandoning the Kingside (with one Knight on a5, the other on b6 and the bishop on b7!). I replied 18.Bh4! Be7 19.Bxe7 Qxe7 20.b4 cxb4 21.cxb4 Nc6 22.a5 as I felt I was gaining the advantage. The alternative was to take advantage of the remoteness of the black’s minor pieces to play the attack with 19.Nf5 Bxh4 20.N3xh4 followed by the switch of the Queen to g4 or h5. But I didn’t find this line that strong; I thought it was less dangerous for him because he’d play …Kh7 and then …Qf6, and in the end, you could wonder what my Knights were really doing? Admittedly, it was possible to reinforce the attack with Re3, but I wasn’t at all sure that would be a good idea; my Bishop on c2 doesn’t attack, black will quickly have …Kh7, …Qf6 and …g6, and I would need to prove that I’ve got something.

In the game, after 22…Nd7, I intended to play 23.Qd2. But 23…Nd4 seemed strong, e.g. 24.Nxd4 exd4 25.Nf5 Qf6 26.f4 Rac8 27.Qf2 Nb8! 28.Nxd4 Nc6 29.Nxc6 Rxc6 didn’t seem clear at all to me. So I changed my mind to 23.Nd5, but after 23…Qd8 24.Bb3 Ne7! black was on the brink of total equalization.

A few moves later…

Here, I’m threatening 35.Bxf7+! followed by a fork on d6. Pichot played 34…Ne6, which suited me because I wanted 35.Bxe6 fxe6 36.Ne3, which leaves white free to torture the position for a very long time. Instead of 34…Ne6, I’d seen that 34…d5? didn’t work because of 35.Nxe5 Qc7 36.f4, and he can never take e4 because of Bxf7+ once again. But mostly, I spent time calculating the plausible 34…Bxe4!? 35.dxe4 Nxe4 36.Qc2 (not 36.Bxf7+? Kh8 with chaos on the board! ; 36.Ke3! Qxf5 37.Nh4 Qh7 38.Bc2 was strong too, but I didn’t see it during the game) 36…Qxf5 37.Ke3 d5 38.Bxd5 Nxg3 39.Qxf5 Nxf5+ 40.Ke4 g6 41.Nxe5 Kg7 42.Nxf7 and the endgame is completely winning because of the a6 pawn that will fall.

The Spanish player didn’t crumble under pressure, until the next position:

I realized that activating both Queens with 48.Qa7 Qf7 would probably lead to a draw. So I spent a lot of time, and came up with 48.d4! exd4 49.e5 which is strong, at least in practice. Perhaps it was still a draw after 49…d5 50.Qxd4 Nf4 51.Qc5+ Kf7 52.Qc2! Qxc2+ 53.Kxc2 Nxh3 54. Kd3 Ke7 55.Kd4 had he played 55…Kd8 now? In any case, the difficulty of defending this endgame in practice was such that after the natural but erroneous 55…Nf4? 56.Nf2! I was sure I was going to win!

Excellent tournoi d’Etienne, qui aura été dans la course jusqu’au bout (Photo : Anna Shtourman).
Excellent tournament from Etienne, who was in the race right to the end (Photo: Anna Shtourman).

Round 9 : Sindarov (2658) – MVL 1/2

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5+ Bd7 5.Qe2. In the 4th round, I noticed that India’s Nihal Sarin had played this minor line (against Ter-Sahakyan, 1-0). I analyzed quickly and saw that after 5…a6, black equalizes. But in this game, I didn’t want to draw, as I had to continue my rush of victories to have any hope. So I took my time and chose 5…g6, then after 6.e5 dxe5 7.Qxe5!? paused againto find 7…Nc6! which is the right move, sacrificing the c5 pawn.

Soon the game took an ultra-complicated turn, and Sindarov even used 48 minutes to play 12.Ne5 😊.

After 12…Nxc3 I calculated a rather crazy line. Given that my opponent had thought for so long, I suspected there was a reason: 13.dxc3 Bxg2 14.Rg1 Qd5 15.Ng4 0-0-0 (I know the machine gives 15…Qf3!, but no human accepts the kamikaze position resulting from 16.Rxg2 Qxg2 17.Nf6+) 16.Ne3 Bf3 17.Nxd5 Bxe2 18.Nb6+ Kc7. Sindarov stopped there, but I pursued the variation and found 19.Bg5! and black’s problems continue, e.g. 19…Re8 20.Kxe2 Kxb6 21.Rad1 with d-file control. Having discarded this variation, I would probably have fallen back on 14…Bc6, but after 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.Qe5! it was perhaps even worse, which I hadn’t really realized on the board.

But Sindarov eventually took with the other pawn, 13.bxc3, and after 13…Bxg2 14.Rg1, I chose 14…Bc6 15.Nxc6 bxc6 and that’s my only regret in this game. I could also have played 14…Qd5 15.c4 Qe4, but after 16.d3, I thought I was slightly worse. On the other hand, if I’d seen it, and unfortunately I didn’t, I would have played the somewhat weird move 14…Bh3!?. It’s a pity because I felt there was something there, but I couldn’t find it. Black threatens to consolidate with …Bf5, and after 15.Qf3 Qc7 16.Nxf7 Qxf7 17.Qxh3 Bd6, he clearly has good compensation for the pawn.

In the game, after 16.Qe5 Rg8 17.Rb1, I opted for 17…Bg7 because I was afraid of a specific line after the more normal 17…Bd6: 18.Qe4 Qc7 19.d4 Kd7 (the natural square to connect the Rooks) 20.Qf3 f5 21.Qh3 Rg7 22.Bh6 Rf7 23.Ke2, and I thought my position was not good at all, which is probably not true.

After a few other twists and turns, the game ended in a draw on the 31st move, putting a definitive end to my remontada…

Classement final (chess-results.com).
Final standings (chess-results.com).

Of course, I’m disappointed with the result, but frankly, I felt I hadn’t been able to defend my chances to the full by not being 100% physically. The good news is that I don’t have time to lament, as the American tour begins on November 14, with the last two tournaments of the Grand Chess Tour 2023 (St-Louis Rapid & Blitz, then Sinquefield Cup), followed a few days later by the Champions Chess Tour Finals in Toronto.

I arrived in New York on November 8, and had a few days to do several exhibitions in Manhattan and Connecticut, which also allowed me to acclimatize to the time difference before arriving in St. Louis.

Maxime’s games:

As soon as he realized that his arrival in the United States preceded by a few hours the first game of the San Antonio Spurs and their new French star Victor Wembanamya in New York, Maxime immediately booked his ticket for this NBA evening at Madison Square Garden. A fan of many sports, he never misses the opportunity, whenever it arises and his schedule allows, to attend a sporting event taking place wherever chess destiny has taken him!

Speed Chess, Magnus fight and slow games!

AI Cup

After having played only 4 classical games in almost 4 months (during the World Cup), and almost 5 months after my last tournament (Bucharest, early May), I returned to the slower time control in Albania, for the European Club Cup.

I’ll come back to this, but first let’s take a look at the two online tournaments that kept me busy during the second half of September, as they offered their share of thrills!

Speed Chess Championship

Speed Chess, which returns every year on www.chess.com, is a highly enjoyable match format, with 90 minutes of 5+1, 60 minutes of 3+1 and 30 minutes of 1+1. Playing in this way for several hours against elite opponents is great training, and generally produces a fairly legitimate result, even if some matches are decided in the last few bullets! The only drawback for me is that I sometimes find the matches a little slow; especially if there’s already a huge margin after two hours of play, the last hour is of little use. Instead, I’d recommend organizing matches with sets. Apart from that, Speed Chess is the most spectacular of all online tournaments, with all the best players taking part.

This year, I put in relatively convincing performances against Gukesh and Sarin, in the round of 16 and ¼ finals (21.5-8.5 and 19.5-11.5 respectively). Things turned to my advantage against Gukesh early on, when I started with a 5-0; inevitably that helps, despite a few games that could have gone wrong. Against Sarin, it was more or less the same pattern; after two or three games that were a bit tricky, I took the lead and never let it go.

In the semi-final, I faced the scary Hikaru Nakamura, who I’ve never beaten in this format. I’ve already beaten Magnus, I’ve already beaten Wesley So… Well, I’ve beaten quite a few!

But Hikaru hurts me every time! For the first 45 minutes, I was on cloud nine, and it was a masterclass on my part! Except that I realized during the break that it was going to be hard to keep up this level of intensity. Perhaps it was a self-fulfilling prophecy, as the second half of the 5+1 saw some games that didn’t go my way, and Hikaru came back into the match. My form picked up again in the 3+1, but unfortunately I completely imploded in the bullet section. He was too strong in that rhythm. In any case, I suspected that I’d have to have a certain lead before that 1+1 section to stand a chance. I was thinking at least +2, and even more probably +3. Despite the final defeat (11.5-16.5), I was still satisfied to have been ahead against Hikaru after the 5′ and 3′ segments, and overall happy with my level of play, building on my victory at Tata Steel Chess India.

Tableau final du Speed Chess 2023 (Image : www.chess.com).
Speed Chess 2023 bracket (Image:www.chess.com).

AI Cup

The final tournament of the Champions Chess Tour 2023 online circuit offered a real challenge for me; with only 8 qualifiers for the December finals in Toronto, and knowing that I’d only played in 1 of the first 5 tournaments, the margin for maneuver was pretty narrow. I had to qualify for Division 1, and certainly win it!

The Play-in (qualifying tournament) consists of a 9-round Open, immediately followed by two-player matches between the top-ranked, to determine the distribution in the three divisions. I was quite convincing in the Open, despite a moment of doubt when I lost a white game against Meier, even though I was almost winning. But I picked myself up immediately afterwards, winning the next two games quite clearly, and that enabled me to qualify for the match where I was clean against Duda (1.5-0.5). This earned me a place in Division 1 for a short week’s competition, and as I was feeling in good shape, why not take the opportunity to continue playing well, against some of the biggest names on the circuit!

The ¼ final against Alireza led to some very hard-fought games, particularly the third one, which I ended up winning after tactical sequences worthy of the Najdorf 6.Bg5 😊.
In the fourth game, I was in control before I made a blunder that put him back in the game, Then followed another one that led to this 4-Queen engame being miraculously saved when I wasn’t the one to give the first check! This is the third time I’ve saved a 4-Queen engame 😊; but this one was so lost that I almost resigned just before he made an incredible blunder!

A match win that is not illogical, even if it came down to small details that tipped the balance in my favor, creating notable differences in the result (3-1).

I then played Mamedyarov in the semi-final, a match I handled well. After 2 draws, in the third game he messed up in the opening with black; punished by me, as it happened that I had watched this line of the Deferred Steinitz and had played it myself with black in the Top 16 against Andrei Sokolov. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.0-0 Bd7 6.c4, I knew the refutation of 6…g5?! 😊(7.d4 g4 8.d5!). Even if the conversion wasn’t perfect, the position always remained very very difficult for him (1-0, 43 moves).

The last game, a Queen’s Gambit Accepted, was a little less well mastered but it went ok with two or three little precise calculations, notably here :

Mamedyarov fell headlong into my trap playing 27.Qc3? (27.Bd4 =), forgetting the very aesthetic 27…Nf6! (27…Qg3+? 28.Kh1 and 27…f6? 28.Bxe6+ of course lost on the spot) 28.Ne5 (28.gxf6 Qg3+; the threats 28…Qg3+ and 28…Bxe4 are devastating) 28…Nxe4 0-1.

Then I played Magnus in the final, and I think it was a very high level match from both sides. In terms of quality of play, I think it was one of the best matches I’ve played in a long time, and I have the impression that this feeling is shared by quite a few people. At least, by Magnus himself, since we discussed it recently in Albania and he confirmed that he shared this opinion.

Obviously there were a few mistakes, but in very complicated positions and with little time on the clock. We both came up with a lot of interesting ideas. The games were intense, with drama, everything was there! Obviously, it was disappointing to lose the match in the Armageddon tie-break (2-2 in regular time), but it was hard to be disappointed by my level of play! That said, the tournament wasn’t over yet, since with the double elimination system, I was going to be relegated to the loser bracket to face Nepo…

Against him, I did pretty well in the first game where he chose his pet Petroff Defense. There were one or two small inaccuracies on his part, which I punished well after a very positional game. In the second game, it was my turn to be in trouble, and I even found myself losing. I had to play the « flying King » without really controlling the situation! But it was still very complicated and Nepo couldn’t find the way to the win. Once again, the elements were on my side. But when you play well, that’s often the case 😊.

As this loser bracket final was in 2 games instead of 4, I met up with Magnus again for a rematch in the Grand Final. With the thankless task of beating him a first time in the 4-game match, and if I succeeded, having to beat him a second time in a 2-game match!

I was aware that if Magnus maintained the same level of play as two days before, it would be a bit of a mission impossible for me. Of course, I knew I was back in top form, but Magnus is the ultimate test of where you stand! It’s one thing to be in form against Top 20-25 opponents. Against Top 10 opponents, it’s quite another. But against the undisputed number 1, it’s something completely different…

I think I may have played a little less accurately in this Grand Final, but it wasn’t too noticeable because I had a few oversights that were either not punished, or in fact weren’t serious; for example, I forget a variation but in fact it’s of no consequence because it doesn’t work for this or that reason. I had a few oversights like that, but there was also a lot of fatigue because it was a long, hard week. As for Magnus, his level was much more erratic, particularly in terms of calculation. He made a lot of mistakes which I was able to take advantage of, particularly in the first game.

In the endgame of the first game, he explained to me that he had bluffed a little with 28.Bd6 instead of the natural 28.Ne5 or 28.Be5. He blamed himself, even though there was no reason for him to lose the Bishops’ endgame after 28…Bxf3 29.gxf3 Bxd4 😊.

I was a little dominated for the rest of the match; let’s just say it wouldn’t necessarily have been a scandal if he’d equalised, especially in the third game. But once again, I got away with it thanks to a few miscalculations he made. I played a good Game 4 with black, which enabled me to win this match (2.5-1.5), and earn the right to play another one over two games to try to win the tournament… and qualify for Toronto!

The first game of the new final was marked by a long theoretical debate involving a Queen sacrifice in the Queen’s Gambit Accepted 3.e4.

We’d both analyzed more or less up to that point, reaching a bizarre position with two Bishops and two pawns fighting my Queen! There was all the drama in the world in this game, which was clearly the best of the day. Despite a few miscalculations on both sides, it was still a game of fairly high quality (0-1, 47 moves).

In the second game, where I only needed a draw with white, I quickly gave him chances.

Here I considered that it would be unreasonable to remain passive and took the risk of radically changing the character of the position with 23.Bxh7+!?. I had a feeling it might not be completely sound, but it was speculative enough to try. I told myself I didn’t really have a choice, as I didn’t like the idea of playing it safe when I’m already slightly worse!

After 23…Kxh7 24.Rh3+ Kg8 25.Qh5, Magnus instantly uncorked the natural 25…f5?, but it was 25…f6! that had to be played!

I had anticipated 25…f6, but I thought that after 26.Qh7+ Kf7, it left me options like 27.Rg3 or 27.exf6 and I wasn’t sure I’d lose (but not 27.Rh6? as in the game, because of the fatal nuance 27…Nxd1! 28.Qg6+ Ke7 and the f6-pawn obstructs the mate on e6!). What’s more, 25…f6 didn’t seem to me to win on the spot, there are still tries for white, even if the machine is implacable in its judgment: after 25…f6!, black has a decisive advantage! Incidentally, I found it odd that Magnus played 25…f5 a tempo, and also that after 26.Qh7+ Kf7 27.Rh6, he thought for 5 minutes before playing the catastrophic 27…Qxc4??, forgetting that after 28.Rf6+! Ke8 29.Qxg7, black is being mated despite the tempo available in defense:

And it’s a win! (Image: www.chess.com).

29…Rxf6 30.exf6 1-0.

Instead of 27…Qxc4?, if he had chosen 27…Ke8! 28.Rxe6+ Kd7, I’d still have had to fight for the half-point synonymous of final victory, and the fact that the machine here delivers its perennial verdict at 0.00 says nothing about the difficulty of white’s task in practice.

With this 2-0 win in the final match, I won the AI Cup and I must say that I’ve had a very, very good week overall. In terms of results and level of play, of course, but also in terms of the confidence I’ve built up.

Les huit qualifiés pour la grande finale de Toronto (9-16 décembre) (Image : championschesstour.com).
The 8 players qualified for the Toronto final (December 9-16) (Image: championschesstour.com).

But early the very next morning, I was on a plane for Albania 😊, where I still had to make the most of my renewed form in classical games…

European Club Cup, Durres (Albania)

Another unit on my list of countries visited! Our Asnières team had a new recruit in Martyrosian, and on paper, we were clearly among the favorites.

I didn’t play in the first two matches. The team did the job properly and I made my debut against the Turkish team Gokturk, against Sanal (2603) :

A position arising from the famous Berlin endgame, which I haven’t played much lately, and which has seen a resurgence of interest in this European Cup.

Here, I felt I could try to take advantage of the acrobatic position of his Rook on c4. My first thought was 22.Rf3, but simply 22…Be7 followed by 23…Bb4. I then evaluated 22.g5 but couldn’t make it work; the trapped Bh4 is unassailable and Black will always have a …h6 somewhere.

In fact, there happens to be another, stronger idea: 22.Rd2! Kb7 23.Rd3, to play 24.b3 without fearing 23…fxg4 24.f5!. But this maneuver is rather counter-intuitive in the position, to say the least! Even if he tries 23…Rd8, after 24.Rfd1 Rxd3 25.cxd3 Rb4 26.b3, it’s still hard for black to play. It’s a somewhat atypical position because the Rook never ends up on c4 or b4 in this variation. From then on, new themes emerge. But black lacks the Rook on the open d-file, for which he paid dearly a little later.

In the game, I preferred 22.exf6 Bxf6 23.f5 Bf7 24.Bf4 Rb4 25.Nd1.

Here, you had to see that 25…Bc4! 26.Re4 Bxf1 27.Rxb4 Be2 28.Ne3 (it looks like it’s better for white, at least that’s what I thought during the game…) 28…Bf3! leads to equality, after 29.Kf2 (29…c5! intermediate) as after 29.g5 (29…Be7 and 30…Bc5).

Sanal missed this not at all easy opportunity and opted for 25…Kb7 26.b3 Rd4 27.Be5!. He probably wanted to play 27…Re8 but from the look on his face when I played 27.Be5, I think he forgot 28.Bxf6!. After 27…gxf6 (27…Rxd1 28.Rxe8 Rxf1+ 29.Kxf1 Bxe8 30.Bxg7 +-) 28.Rxe8 Fxe8 29.Re1, the endgame left little hope.

He therefore settled for 27…Bxe5 28.Rxe5 Rad8, but after 29.Re7, the endgame remains just as difficult to defend (1-0, 58 moves).

I suffered to draw my second game against Sarin (2694) because I wasn’t precise enough in my Queen’s Gambit Accepted. But the team signed its fourth victory, and it was now time to face the #1 seed, the Romanian team Superchess, sponsored by Superbet and led by Rapport and Anand…

Pourquoi tu me regardes comme ça ? (Rapport-Mvl, Ronde 5) : (Photo Niki Riga).
Why are you looking at me like that? (Rapport-Mvl, Round 5): (Photo Niki Riga).

In this match, I doubled black against Rapport (2752). I manoeuvered very well in the middle game, in which we took turns taking risks, but the wind shifted in my favor after some good strategic decisions:

I was happy with the way I had played to reach this position, notably with the exchange of the black-squared Bishops on h6, as well as the tricky maneuvers to gradually increase the pressure on the weak e4 pawn. Unfortunately, I missed the knockout here…

The pawn endgame was won after 36…a3 37.b3 f5! 38.Qf4 (I had seen 38.exf5 Qxf3+ 39.gxf3 Rxe2 40.Rxe2 Rxe2 41.Kxe2 and the key 41…g5!) 38…fxe4+ 39.Rxe4 Rxe4 40.Rxe4 Qxe4+ 41.Qxe4 Rxe4 42.Kxe4. At some point when he plays Ke4 with my king on f6, I’ll reply …g5! and I obviously knew that in that case the game would be won. That’s why I need to gain the opposition, because if I can get my king to e5 or f5, the game is over. What I missed in limited time was understanding how to prevent white’s King from staying on e4 and f4. In fact, you have to triangulate with the King, for example 42…Kf6 43.Kf4 Ke7! 44.Kf3 Kf7, and repeat the maneuver if he plays 45.g3.

I missed a second clear-cut chance later in the ending:

There are always hidden resources in Rook endgames!

My choice of 52…Rxc4? 53.bxc5 Ke5 was not the right one: 54.Re2+ Kd5 55.Re8! Rxc5 56.Kd2 and the white’s Rook will succeed in a permanent harassment from behind (1/2, 67 moves).

However, there was a way! 52…cxb4! 53.Rxd4 b3 54.Kd2 (54.Rxf4+ Ke5 55.Rf2 Rxc4 wins, black pieces are too active) 54…Rc2+ 55.Kd3 and it almost becomes a study whose main line would be 55…Kf5! 56.Rd5+ Kg4 57.Rg5+ Kxh4 58.Rg8 Rc1 59.Rb8 Kg3 60.Rxb3 Kxg2 -+. But during the game I wasn’t sure of myself and didn’t make the right choice.

In fact, in this game, each time I had two tempting choices. I wanted to go for the simplest and each time I went for the most complicated (a great classic 😊).

Unfortunately, this missed half-point prevented us from snatching a draw in this top-of-the-table duel.

We got our revenge the next day by beating the Israelis from Beersheva. I won against Mikhalevski (2527).

The competition concluded the next day with a match of all possibles against the Norwegian team of Offerspill, led by world #1 Magnus Carlsen:

Le Gambit-Dame Accepté a tenu bon ! (Photo : Niki Riga).
The Queen’s Gambit Accepted held its ground! (Photo: Niki Riga).

I played a good game, thanks to a good preparation with black, which very quickly brought me to the following position:

This endgame was actually a little trickier than I first thought when I got into it.

A normal move, e.g. 24…Rhd8, would have been possible provided I activated my majority on the Queenside. But in that case, his two Rooks would have come into play. Exchanging a pair of Rooks, for example on d3, would not have been an option, as his e-pawn would then have become too strong. With the 4 Rooks, he could easily have played Rg1 to force …g6 and then continue with h4-h5. His King would have found himself on e4 relatively protected, ready to infiltrate f5 and support the e-pawn. As long as there are all 4 rooks on the board, I can never play …b6 and …c5, as white responds with a5-axb6 and hits the b-pawn, while infiltrating the a-file, after which his e-pawn advances on its own. So, above all, I had to prevent h4.

I mobilized myself, took my time organizing the defense, and found the right moves, starting with the good sequence 24…Rf8 25.f4 g5! (preventing h4 – blocking white’s pawn phalanx) 26.a5 (26.fxg5 Rf5 ; 26.Rb4 c5! 27.Rb5 b6 28.a5 Kc7 29.axb6+ axb6 30.Ra6 – otherwise 30…Kc6, black’s King supports its pawns and all three results become possible! – 30…gxf4+ 31.exf4 Rd3+ 32.Kg4 Rd4, we’ll exchange all the pawns and stay good friends!) 26…gxf4+ 27.exf4 Rd4 28.Rf3 Rf5! and I’ve managed to create the conditions for a white-square blockade (½, 47 moves).

Grille américaine des 10 premiers de la Coupe d’Europe (Image : www.chess-results.com).
European Cup final rankings (Top 10): (Image : www.chess-results.com).

Unfortunately, the team lost by the slimmest of margins, after a match that came down to nothing. Instead of a podium finish, or even a final victory on the wire, we had to settle for seventh place. The Cup – Championship – European Cup triplet didn’t happen, but I think Asnières can still be proud of its team’s results this season! And let’s not forget to congratulate Offerspill’s squad for becoming European Champions!

On an individual level, I’m now preparing for the Isle of Man Grand Swiss (October 25 – November 5), which will offer 2 new places for the 2024 Candidates, just before heading off to the American continent for a rather long tour, since the return to Paris is scheduled for December 18!

Maxime’s games in Speedchess :

Maxime’s games in the AI Cup:

Maxime’s games in Tirana:

Jean-Philippe Toussaint, a prolific author who has won numerous awards, including the Médicis in 2005, has often peppered his work with references to the game of chess. In fact, his first book is entitled «Echecs». At the beginning of September, as a well-informed German speaker, he published a new French translation of Zweig’s famous work «The Chess Player», which he renamed «Echecs» («Chess»). At the same time, Jean-Philippe Toussaint has also published an autobiography that he himself hopes will be «the chessboard of [his] memory». Entitled «L’échiquier» («The Chessboard»), it contains numerous accounts of his passion for the game and his encounters with chess personalities. On the occasion of this publication, «Philosophie Magazine» organized a (long) interview between Jean-Philippe Toussaint and Maxime, during which many themes were discussed. Chess and writing take center stage, of course, even if the interview occasionally drifts towards other metaphysical shores!

Image : Philosophie Magazine

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