Maxime Vachier-Lagrave facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Maxime Vachier-Lagrave |
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Vachier-Lagrave at the Candidates Tournament 2020–21
|
|
| Country | France |
| Born | 21 October 1990 Nogent-sur-Marne, France |
| Title | Grandmaster (2005) |
| FIDE rating | 2778 (August 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2819 (August 2016) |
| Ranking | No. 16 (July 2021) |
| Peak ranking | No. 2 (August 2016) |
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (born 21 October 1990) is a famous French chess grandmaster. People often call him MVL for short. He was once the World Blitz Champion.
Maxime is one of the highest-rated chess players ever. His highest rating was 2819. This makes him the seventh-highest rated player in history.
He became a grandmaster in 2005 when he was just 14 years old. This shows he was a chess prodigy, meaning a very talented young player. He has won many important tournaments. These include the French Chess Championship multiple times. He also won the World Junior Chess Championship in 2009. Maxime has won the Biel Grandmaster Tournament five times. He also won the Sinquefield Cup twice. He even came second in the Candidates Tournament 2020–21.
Maxime has played for France in big team events. These include the Chess Olympiad. He also plays for the French esports team, Team Vitality.
Contents
Early Life and Becoming a Grandmaster
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave started playing chess very young. He competed in youth tournaments from age six. He won many French championships for different age groups. He won the Under-8 title in 1997. He also won the Under-10s in 1999. In 2000, he won the Under-12s.
He also did well in the World Youth Chess Championship. He placed third in the Under-10 group in 2000. He was second in the Under-14 event in 2003.
Maxime became an International Master in 2004. He then earned the Grandmaster title in 2005. He was only 14 years and 4 months old. This was a huge achievement for such a young player. His chess rating grew steadily during these years.
Amazing Chess Achievements
Maxime has had a very successful chess career. He has won many championships and tournaments.
French Chess Championships
Maxime has won the French Junior Championship. He also won the main French Chess Championship in 2007. He won it again in 2011 and 2012.
Top International Tournaments
Maxime has played in many major chess events around the world.
- In 2006, he won the Young Masters tournament in Lausanne.
- He won the Paris City Chess Championship twice.
- In 2009, he won the Biel Grandmaster Tournament. He won this tournament four more times. These wins were in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.
- He also won the World Junior Chess Championship in 2009.
- In 2017, he won the Sinquefield Cup. This is one of the strongest chess tournaments. He won it again in 2021. He was the first player to win this event twice.
- In 2022, he won the Bucharest Superbet Classic.
FIDE Grand Prix and World Cups
Maxime has done very well in FIDE events. These events help players qualify for the World Chess Championship.
- He reached the semifinals of the Chess World Cup 2013.
- In 2017, he won the Sharjah Grand Prix stage.
- He reached the semifinals of the Chess World Cup 2017. He just missed qualifying for the Candidates Tournament.
- In 2019, he finished third in the Chess World Cup 2019.
Candidates Tournament 2020–2021
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played in the Candidates Tournament 2020–21. This tournament decides who challenges the World Champion. He joined the tournament when another player withdrew. The tournament was paused because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It started again in April 2021. Maxime finished in second place. He was only half a point behind the winner, Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Grand Chess Tour Events
Maxime is a regular participant in the Grand Chess Tour. This is a series of top-level tournaments.
- In 2015, he placed third in the London Chess Classic.
- He won the Sinquefield Cup in 2017. He beat Magnus Carlsen in their game.
- He finished second overall in the Grand Chess Tour in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023.
- In 2019, he won the Paris Rapid and Blitz Grand Chess Tour tournament.
- In 2021, he won the Croatia Grand Chess Tour Rapid and Blitz tournament.
Fast Chess Skills
_und_Kramnik_in_Berlin_2015.JPG)
Maxime is also very strong in faster chess games. These include rapid and blitz chess.
- He won the European Blitz Championship twice.
- In 2015, he came second in the World Blitz Championship.
- He won the World Blitz Chess Championship 2021 in Warsaw. This made him the World Blitz Champion.
- In 2023, he won the Rapid section of the Tata Steel India Chess Tournament.
- He also won the Champions Chess Tour 2023 AI Cup Rapid.
- As of early 2024, he was ranked third in the world for rapid chess. He was also tenth for blitz chess.
Playing for Teams
Maxime has played for many chess teams. He played for the NAO Chess Club in French team championships. His team won the French Under-16 championship twice. They also won the Top 16 championship. He later played for the Évry Grand Roque and Clichy clubs.
He has also played in the European Chess Club Cup. He played for teams like SV Mülheim Nord and SOCAR Baku. In 2025, Maxime joined Team Vitality. He is the first chess player to join this esports organization.
Personal Life
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave shares his chess knowledge online. He teaches chess on his own YouTube channel, called MVL Chess. He also writes a blog about chess.
See also
In Spanish: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave para niños
