"MVL" on the Candidates, Chennai and Carlsen

by Dhananjay Khadilkar
7/1/2022 – It has been more than a year since Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (MVL) finished second in the Candidates tournament. Ideally, the French Grandmaster should have been playing in this year’s edition too. However, he missed out following disappointing performances in the Fide Grand Prix events. With the 2021 Candidates tournament relatively fresh in mind, Dhananjay Khadilkar spoke to MVL on a range of issues including his pick for the 2022 Candidates, skipping this year’s Olympiad and the possibility of Magnus Carlsen not defending the world championship title.

ChessBase 18 - Mega package ChessBase 18 - Mega package

Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.

More...

Having played against the Candidates participants numerous times, what is your educated guess on the outcome of this tournament?

Before the tournament began, I considered Ian Nepomniachtchi, Fabiano Caruana, Ding Liren and Alireza Firouza as the top contenders. Since Caruana has been playing great chess for some time, I thought he would eventually win. However, after his loss in the eighth round (to Hikaru Nakamura), Nepomniachtchi seems to be the heavy favourite.

Are you surprised by the manner in which Nepomniachtchi has bounced back following his loss to Carlsen?

I am not surprised at all. It was clear things went wrong for him against Carlsen. However, it was not about his level of chess but instead it was his mind set. The loss in the long, gruelling sixth game affected him tremendously. However, we saw in every tournament since then, he managed to perform well. He finished second overall in the world rapid championship, held just a week after his world championship match against Carlsen. He was one of the best-prepared players in the last Candidates in Yekaterinburg. Clearly, he has done a lot of work in the past few years and it is paying off.

How do you think the remaining part of the Candidates tournament will unfold?

I feel Nepomniachtchi is going for the same strategy he did in the last Candidates. For example, he settled for a quick draw with white pieces against Ding Liren in the eighth round. He mostly wants to conserve energy and is very confident in his ability to hold with black and sometimes even counterattack like he did so well against Richard (Rapport). However, it almost proved costly for him against Caruana (in round nine).

Now that he is in the lead, I think Nepomniachtchi will proceed with caution. In the last Candidates, some players who were not in the reckoning for winning the tournament, were also fighting the hardest. Kirill Alekseenko won his last game, and so did Ding. Similarly this time, no one is going to just drop everything and stop caring about the results. Having said that, I see it now as a two-horse between Nepomniachtchi and Caruana.

What do you make of Firouza’s performance so far?

It would be an understatement to say he is not playing at his best. His time management has not been great, which isn’t the first time. He definitely has to work on that aspect. At the same time, you can see his potential. He is fighting hard in every game. Perhaps, a bit too hard. But it’s a matter of experience on how to save energy for the next games. Overall, it will be a great experience for him to build upon, to look where he committed mistakes and improve. He definitely has the potential to win the Candidates one day.

Why have you and Firouza decided to skip this year’s Olympiad which will be held in Chennai?

The main reason is the weather. India is a great chess country. I would have loved to play in the Olympiad there. But it would have been wise to move the event to October. I don’t think I will be able to adapt to the July weather which can be drastically hot as far as I am concerned. I knew it would affect me. I asked Firouza what he wanted to do. I told him if he went, I would go too. If we had chances to win, I would definitely have made the effort. However, Firouza said he didn’t want to go more or less for the same reasons. It’s a pity as when the Olympiad was moved from Moscow to Chennai, it would have been wise to change the dates. Had it been held in October, I would have surely played. I also spoke about this with Vishy (Viswanathan Anand) who said he understood my reasons. 

What do you think of Carlsen’s statement that he may not defend the world championship title?

Magnus is quite honest with what he says. He was definitely speaking his mind. That doesn’t mean he won’t defend the title. He still has to decide depending on his thoughts and  depending on who wins the Candidates. I do think he is tired of the idea of yet another match for which he has to spend six months preparing. It can be quite gruelling. It has been 10 years Since Carlsen has been defending his title. To do that every two years can cause mental exhaustion. At the same time, I find it a bit weird he doesn’t offer an idea or another way to find a world champion or create a different cycle that suits him better so that he can take part in it.

You had decent results in 2022 Norway Chess where you finished fourth. The final standings could have looked different had you won the thrilling eighth round game against Magnus. What’s your take on the encounter?

Things went well for me at the start. Magnus surprised me but I reacted well. I was playing fast and confidently. I managed to get him out of his comfort zone. At some point, he was taking a lot of time for his decisions. That gave me even more confidence and I started playing for a win. Initially, he made some mistakes but then he started defending brilliantly. I did miss a couple of winning chances which were not obvious. However, I should have definitely found the first one. It was a very nice game, a tough fight. However, I feel a bit incomplete for not managing to win the game.

 
New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bb5+ c6 8.Ba4 b5 9.Bb3 a5 10.Nf3 0-0 11.0-0 a4 12.Bc2 c5 13.Rb1 Bg4 14.e5 Nc6 15.Be4 Rc8 16.h3 Bxf3 17.Qxf3 Qd7 18.Bd3 cxd4 19.Bxb5 dxc3 20.Qxc3 Qd5 21.Bxa4 Qxa2 22.Ra1 Nxe5 23.Rxa2 Rxc3 24.Bd2 Rcc8 25.Bb5 Rc5 26.Be2 Nc6 27.Rc1 Rxc1+ 28.Bxc1 Rb8 29.Be3 Bd4 30.Bh6 Bg7 31.Be3 h5 32.g3 e6 33.Kg2 Nb4 34.Rd2 Nd5 35.Rd3 Nxe3+ 36.Rxe3 Bd4 37.Rd3 e5 38.Rd2 Kg7 39.h4 Kh6 40.f4 Be3 41.Rd7 exf4 42.gxf4 f5 43.Kf3 Bc1 44.Bc4 Rc8 45.Bf7 Rc3+ 46.Kg2 Bxf4 47.Bg8 g5 48.Be6 Kg6 49.Rd5 g4 50.Bxf5+ Kf6 51.Bh7 Be5 52.Bg6 g3 53.Ra5 Rc4 54.Ra6+ Kg7 55.Bxh5 Rxh4 56.Rg6+ Kh7 57.Rg5 Rh2+ 58.Kf3 Rf2+ 59.Kg4 Bf4 60.Rg6 Rf1 61.Kf5 Bg5+ 62.Ke4 Rf4+ 63.Kd3 Rf5 64.Ke4 Rf4+ 65.Kd3 Bh4 66.Re6 g2 67.Rg6 Rf5 68.Rxg2 Rxh5 69.Ke4 Bf6 70.Kf4 Bg7 71.Ke4 Kg8 72.Rg6 Kf7 73.Ra6 Bf6 74.Ra8 Rh4+ 75.Kf5 Rh5+ 76.Ke4 Rb5 77.Kf4 Be5+ 78.Ke4 Bd6 79.Rh8 ½–½
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2864Vachier Lagrave,M2750½–½2022D8510th Norway Chess 20228.1

MVLChess


Dhananjay is a Paris based journalist and a chess enthusiast. While he enjoys playing the game, he is more fascinated by the drama and history associated with it.

We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.