{"id":7579,"date":"2018-04-18T12:46:41","date_gmt":"2018-04-18T10:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mvlchess.com\/?p=7579"},"modified":"2018-06-09T19:43:01","modified_gmt":"2018-06-09T17:43:01","slug":"my-french-youth-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mvlchess.com\/en\/2018\/04\/18\/my-french-youth-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"My French Youth Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a quiet period before the next tournament, end of April in Norway. I take this opportunity to recharge batteries, think about what lies ahead\u2026 and train !
\nAt the present time, the French Youth Championships 2018 are taking place in Agen (south west), with almost 1.600 youngsters gathering during one week. I thought it was a good moment to introduce \u00ab my \u00bb Youth Championships, which I played uninterrupted for eight years, from 1997 to 2004.
\n<\/p>\n

Being beetween 6 and 13 at the time, I don\u2019t necessarily recall precise memories, and I most certainly forgot a lot of details. But I keep nice recollections of these tournaments, even if I couldn\u2019t enjoy them as a teenager. Moreover, I seldom played in my age category, as I was often upgraded, and found myself with people older than me. Well, as I was already used to moving around during my games, I still was able to spot a few familiar faces !
\nMy eight Youth Championships have been evenly spread over France, which enabled me to visit the country with my parents and sister !<\/p>\n

Here is a quick overview of these tournaments\u2026<\/p>\n

MONTLUCON 1997: winner U8<\/h4>\n

I was 6 and it was my very first French Championship, at the end of my first season in a chess club. My first two tournaments had indeed been the Val-de-Marne and the Ile-de-France U8 championships, through which I qualified narrowly ! When I arrived in Montlu\u00e7on, I had no specific ambition of winning the championship ; so I played, and I was just happy when I was finding a nice combination and won !<\/p>\n

\"Players
Players list of the U8 Championship in 1997, Maxime unrated.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But I started winning against the favourites ! Among them, I mostly recall Edouard Bonnet (great frenh hope of years 2000, who doesn\u2019t play a lot anymore, but now excels in computing science ! http:\/\/www.lamsade.dauphine.fr\/~bonnet. In the U12 World Championships 2001, he ended up =2nd in the same group than Maxime, just behind no less than Karjakin ! -Ed.<\/em>). I took the lead of the tournament, and the titled came in as a surprise for everybody, including myself !<\/p>\n

ROCHEFORT 1998: 9th in U10<\/h4>\n

I was 7 and starting to get reasonable results. Therefore I was upgraded in U10 and, even if I wasn\u2019t aware of it at the time, I didn\u2019t have the solid technical background required to challenge the very best in this age category. Indeed, some of them had already celebrated their 10th anniversary.<\/p>\n

\"Maxime
Maxime in his tenderest years !<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tournament began well (3.5\/4), and then I lost round 5 after playing the Morra Gambit against the Sicilian. From memory, it was an improvisation on the board. I finally got my gambit pawn back, but with a devastated position ; it was my first and last Morra Gambit ever ! (this game was played against another promising youngster, Helder Frade Marques, who will end up stopping chess when a teenager<\/em>). A further loss in the tournament had me on the 9th place of the final rankings.<\/p>\n

ROMANS-SUR-ISERE 1999: winner U10<\/h4>\n

I was 8 and I remained in U10 category, once more facing my main opponents of Montlu\u00e7on 97.<\/p>\n

\"Brethes-Mvl,\"
Brethes-Mvl, Romans 1999 ; not so easy to calculate transitions to pawn endings as a 8-year player. Here, I easily succeed : 37\u2026Rxe3! 38.fxe3 h5 39.b4 axb4 40.a5 b3 41.a6 b2 42.a7 b1=Q 43.a8=Q Qc2+ 44.Kg1 Kf3! 0-1.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Things began rather well, with 4\/4, but then I just blundered my Queen in one move in the opening of my game against Edouard Bonnet ! Probably the worst blunder of my whole career\u2026 I still won the next three games, and secured the title with a last round draw, but after an epic opening (see sidebar at the end of the article<\/em>).<\/p>\n

PAU 2000: winner U12<\/h4>\n

I was 9 and I played in U12. But I was still in the pre-tournament favourites. From then on, I would always be upgraded in the subsequent championships.<\/p>\n

\"

Mvl-Sancho, Pau 2000 ; an aesthetic Queen sacrifice crowns the attack : 24.Reg3! Bxc1 (24\u2026gxh6 would have slightly prolonged the end of life) 25.Rxg7+ Kh8 26.Rgg3! (a quiet move, but mate is unavoidable) 26\u2026Qe7 27.Bg7+ 1-0.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In my memories, it was a diffucult tournament, with lots of hard-fought games. You didn\u2019t win material with easy tactics as happened two or three years earlier ! But the tournament unfolded in the most perfect way as I scored 7\/7, taking revenge on Frade Marques in the process, thanks to a very well-played game!
\nHowever, I lost round 8 against Edouard Bonnet, in a crazy game that began with the Accelerated Dragon I cheered at the time, having worked on it with my trainer, FM Eric Birmingham.<\/p>\n

\"Bonnet-Mvl,
Bonnet-Mvl, Pau 2000 ; I\u2019m a full Queen up and on the move, but I\u2019m the one who is in danger of losing !<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I missed the draw and ended up losing the game, allowing both my opponent and Frade Marques to catch me up at 7\/8.
\nFortunately, I won the last round, though after a very chaotic struggle, and as none of my rivals did the same, I was able to pocket my third national title without going through the playoffs which seemed to be looming.<\/p>\n

\"Already
Already in pyjamas, but still working with Eric Birmingham !<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

AMIENS 2001: 12th in U14<\/h4>\n

I was 10 and upgraded in U14. I started strongly with 4\/4, before to suffer a serious setback with three losses in a row ! I wouldn\u2019t have anticipated to break this record one day, but that\u2019s what I actually did in 2015, enduring four consecutive defeats at the Khanty-Mansyik tournament\u2026
\nI was thus in no position to claim anything for the rest of the tournament, and despite two wins in the last two rounds, I ended up at a humble 12th place, my worse result of all youth championships.<\/p>\n

\"A
A smile before the game !<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

HYERES 2002: winner U16<\/h4>\n

I was 11, but I still went up to U16 category, the more so as I had the best U16 rating in France (2278 -Ed.). I remember the tournament was tense all along. The resistance level of my opponents had grown much higher, but I didn\u2019t burst into flames as I did the previous year in Amiens ! In the end, I scored 7\/9 with four draws, as did three other players, Xavier Beudaert (today rated 2275 -Ed.<\/em>), Jean Netzer (IM, 2410 -Ed.<\/em>) and Kevin Bordi (2288 and chess commentator on Internet, https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCcXH6W9ey_h8LEx2lFxp5fg\/featured<\/a> -Ed.<\/em>).
\nSo I had to participate in my first playoff, and not a head-to-head one ! I recall having 1.5\/2 and Beudaert 2\/2, and that we met in the last game, title at stake. A draw was enough for him, but I went on to win, and earned my fourth title.<\/p>\n

\"

Mvl-Monsieux, Hy\u00e8res 2002. Sometimes, luck is required ; here, I was given a much needed boost as soon as round 1. In this about equal position, black played the wrong 37\u2026Rf8?, which loses material by force after 38.Ne7! Rh8 (38\u2026Qxe7 39.Qxf8) 39.Nc6+ Ka8 40.Qg7! Rg8 (40\u2026Qe8 41.Qxc7) 41.Qf7 1-0.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LE GRAND-BORNAND 2003: 2nd U18<\/h4>\n

I was 12 and I played U18 as I once again had the best rating (2382 -Ed.<\/em>). But I started badly, notably by scoring a meagre 0.5\/2 from the traditional 2 rounds day, the one of rounds 2 and 3. So I had to play the rest of the tournament as an underdog, and ended up at a reasonable 7\/9, even though it wasn\u2019t enough to get the title, earned by Matthieu Cornette. I still had to contest a playoff for the second place, which I won. From memory, I got points from rook endgames, and I have in mind a R+P f\/g vs R+P h !
\nAt the time, I felt a bit disapointed by this second place, but objectively, it wasn\u2019t that bad, especially if you look at the beginning of the tournament.<\/p>\n

REIMS 2004: winner U20<\/h4>\n

I was 13 and I played in the highest category, U20. It was to be my last France Youth Championship. Things went on quite well all along in Reims, but I must admit that 2004 was a year during which I had a huge boost in terms of playing level. We were four favourites, all rated beetween 2400 and 2500, with Matthieu Cornette, S\u00e9bastien Maz\u00e9 and Fabien Libiszewski (all IGMs as of today -Ed.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

\"Excerpt
Excerpt of the tournament standings from the U20 championship in 2004 (www.echecs.asso.fr ).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I started with 4\/4, including a win against Fabien in a very complex Trompovsky. I then drew with S\u00e9bastien and Matthieu. Before the last round, Seb and I were at 7\/8. He drew, and for my part, I defeated another S\u00e9bastien (Plantet, who stopped chess two years later\u2026 -Ed.<\/em>), though I had offered a draw he took too much risk trying to justify declining.
\nFollowing this title at 13 in the premier class category, I rounded off my history with the Youth French Championships, a few months before to begin another one, in the French National (Adults !), which was to take place in Val d\u2019Is\u00e8re in August 2004.
\nBut that\u2019s quite another story !<\/p>\n

[otw_shortcode_quote border=”bordered” border_style=”bordered” background_pattern=”otw-pattern-1″]Fingerfelher<\/b>