EP 245- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave is a 3 time champion of France, 2 time Sinquefield Cup winner, and perennial top 10 player in the world. Maxime joined me from his home in Paris while on a brief break from a hectic tournament schedule. In addition to some events in St. Louis, Maxime recently played in FIDE World Cup in Russia, and won the Zagreb Grand Chess Tour event in July. Maxime was very candid in our conversation as he discussed his recent successes, his 2nd place finish in the 2020-2021 Candidates Tournament, his thoughts on the World Championship match, and his opinions on the formats and qualification criteria of various important tournaments. It was amazing to hear the honest reflections of a chess player who is amongst the best in the world and still working to get even better! Please read on for more details, timestamps, and relevant links.    0:00- We begin by discussing Maxime’s recent travels and chess events. Mentioned: MVL interview with Agadmator, FIDE Candidates, FIDE World Cup, FIDE Grand Swiss in Riga   9:00- Does Maxime feel that his OTB game has been progressing? Which upcoming tournaments are his biggest priorities? Mentioned: GM Ian Nepomniatchi, GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda, GM Sergei Karjakin, GM Teimour Radjabov, 2022 FIDE Grand Prix   19:30- Patreon mailbag question: How does Maxime feel about the current rules for qualifying for the FIDE Candidates tournament and the formats for FIDE’s other major events.   27:00- Perpetual Chess is also brought to you in part by Chessmood.com  Chessmood offers a huge library of instructive videos. You can hear GM Avetik Grigoryan on Episode 192 of Perpetual Chess. Be sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel here. 27:30- Perpetual Chess is also brought to you in part by AImchess.com. Check out the site, and if you decide to subscribe use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. 28:30- Maxime has several GMs on his team, as well as a performance coach. What do they work on? How did he feel that GM Ian Nepomniachtchi handled his nerves in the Candidates? Mentioned: MVL