Maxime Vachier-Lagrave facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Maxime Vachier-Lagrave |
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Vachier-Lagrave at the Candidates Tournament 2020–21
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| Country | France |
| Born | 21 October 1990 Nogent-sur-Marne, France |
| Title | Grandmaster (2005) |
| FIDE rating | 2778 (June 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. With a top rating of 2819, he is one of the highest-rated chess players ever.
Maxime was a chess prodigy, which means he was super talented at a young age. He became a grandmaster in 2005 when he was just 14 years old. He has won many big tournaments, including the French Chess Championship multiple times. He also won the World Junior Chess Championship in 2009.
He has also won the Biel Grandmaster Tournament several times. In 2017 and 2021, he won the important Sinquefield Cup. Maxime has played for France in major team events like the Chess Olympiad.
Contents
Early Life and Rise to Grandmaster
Maxime started playing in youth chess tournaments when he was six. He won the French Under-8 championship in 1997. He continued to win titles in different age groups as he grew up.
He also did very well in the World Youth Chess Championship. He placed third in the Under-10 division in 2000. He also got second place in the Under-14 event in 2003.
His FIDE rating, which shows a player's strength, grew steadily. He became an International Master in 2004. Then, in 2005, he earned the Grandmaster title. This happened when he was only 14 years and 4 months old.
Chess Career Highlights
French Championships
Maxime has had great success in his home country.
- In 2004, he won the French Junior Championship (Under-20).
- He finished third in the French Chess Championship in 2005.
- He won the French Championship in 2007. He beat another grandmaster, Vladislav Tkachiev, in a tiebreak match.
- He won the French Championships again in both 2011 and 2012.
Major International Tournaments
Maxime has played and won many important chess events around the world.
- In 2006, he won the Young Masters tournament in Lausanne.
- He won the Paris City Chess Championship in 2007 and 2008.
- In 2009, he won the Biel Grandmaster Tournament. He also won the World Junior Chess Championship that same year.
- He won the Biel Grandmaster Tournament again in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. This shows how strong he is in this event.
- In 2017, he won the Sinquefield Cup. This is one of the strongest chess tournaments in the world.
- He won the 2018 Shenzhen Masters.
- In 2021, he won the Sinquefield Cup again. He was the first player to win this event twice.
- He won the Bucharest Superbet Classic in 2022.
FIDE Grand Prix and World Cups
These tournaments are very important for qualifying for the World Chess Championship.
- He reached the semifinals of the Chess World Cup 2013.
- In 2017, he won the Sharjah Grand Prix. He also reached the semifinals of the Chess World Cup 2017. He just missed qualifying for the Candidates Tournament 2018.
- In 2019, he finished third in the Chess World Cup 2019.
- He was a semifinalist in the FIDE Grand Prix 2022 stage in Belgrade.
Candidates Tournament 2020–2021
Maxime got to play in the Candidates Tournament 2020–21. This tournament decides who will challenge the World Champion. He joined after another player, Teimour Radjabov, 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 Tournaments
The Grand Chess Tour is a series of top-level tournaments. Maxime has been a regular participant.
- In 2015, he placed fourth overall in the Grand Chess Tour.
- He was second in the Paris Grand Chess Tour (rapid and blitz) in 2017.
- He won the Sinquefield Cup in 2017, beating Magnus Carlsen in their game.
- He finished second overall in the Grand Chess Tour in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023.
- He won the 2019 Paris Rapid and Blitz Grand Chess Tour tournament.
- In 2021, he won the Croatia Grand Chess Tour Rapid and Blitz tournament.
Rapid, Blitz, and Bullet Chess
Maxime is also very strong in faster chess games. These are games where players have less time to think.
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- He won the European Blitz Championship in 2010 and 2012.
- He won the 2011 SportAccord World Mind Games in Beijing.
- In 2015, he came second at the World Blitz Championship in Berlin. He was very close to winning.
- He won the 2016 Corsica Masters (rapid), beating Viswanathan Anand in the final.
- In 2019, he won the Norway Chess blitz tournament.
- He became the World Blitz Champion in 2021. This was a huge achievement.
- He won the 2023 Tata Steel India Chess Tournament in the Rapid section.
- He also won the Champions Chess Tour 2023 AI Cup Rapid.
Team Competitions
Maxime has played for various chess teams.
- He played for the NAO Chess Club teams in the French team championship. His team won the Under-16 French championship in 2004–2005 and 2005–2006.
- He has also played in the European Chess Club Cup for different clubs.
Rapid and Blitz Rankings
Maxime is known for being excellent at fast chess. He won the World Blitz Chess Championship in 2021. He was also the only player to beat Magnus Carlsen in the 2023 edition of the World Rapid Championship. He is consistently ranked among the top players in both rapid and blitz chess.
Personal Life
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave also shares his chess knowledge online. He teaches chess on his own YouTube channel, MVL Chess. He also has a blog where he writes about chess.
Images for kids
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Vachier-Lagrave (left) chatting with Vladimir Kramnik at the World Blitz Chess Championship, 2015 in Berlin. (Alexander Grischuk is on the right).
See also
In Spanish: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave para niños
