3 out of 3 for MVL
Four games finished decisively on Saturday at the Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest, and three of them were won by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The Frenchman first beat top seed Alireza Firouzja in their classical encounter to catch Wesley So and Levon Aronian in the lead of the standings table; and then defeated both So and Aronian in playoffs to claim the title at the Grand Chess Tour’s inaugural event of 2022.
In this two-volume video course former world-champion and startrainer Rustam Kasimdzhanov shows you the ins and outs of this hugely complex opening.
Thanks to his victory over Firouzja, MVL climbed to tenth place in the live ratings list, shortly after failing to qualify to the Candidates Tournament via the FIDE Grand Prix — he had also fallen short at the Grand Swiss and at the World Cup (barely in the latter). In the last semester or so, however, the Frenchman recovered from a slump in form in early 2021, winning both the Sinquefield Cup and the World Blitz Championship.
The humble and humorous 31-year-old has proven to be capable of beating anyone in the elite circuit, but has lacked stability compared to the likes of Magnus Carlsen, Ding Liren and Fabiano Caruana. Talking to Dhananjay Khadilkar after winning the Sinquefield Cup last year, MVL asserted confidently:
I have absolutely no doubt that I am part of the chess elite. I want to prove it tournament after tournament.
It is unfortunate that we will not get to see Vachier-Lagrave’s principled, fighting style in this year’s edition of the Candidates, but after seeing his performance in Bucharest we can rest assured that he will continue to fight neck and neck with the very best in the world in the coming months and years.

Back in the top 10 — Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Facing the highest-rated in the field, MVL remained loyal to the Grünfeld Defence and demonstrated his willingness to get a fighting game early on, as he played a sharp novelty on move 12.
Firouzja vs. Vachier-Lagrave
12...Rc8 or 12...c5 are natural continuations in this position, which might certainly lead to interesting skirmishes, but 12...b5 immediately goes for the throat. The fact that Firouzja spent almost half an hour to respond with 13.Nd2 (he was probably considering 13.Ne5 or even 13.Ne3) demonstrate the potential complications that might arise after Black’s pawn push.
The strategy worked well for Vachier-Lagrave, who succeeded in creating a double-edged fight with the black pieces. The queens were swapped on move 21, but the ensuing position was not without complications, with four rooks, two knights and an asymmetrical pawn structure left on the board.
Firouzja’s 33.e5 was a costly imprecision — the youngster calculated that he could grab the pawn on f7 by tactical means, but failed to foresee that Black’s passer on the b-file was more dangerous than his initiative on the kingside.
You are looking for an active answer to 1.d4? Then the Grünfeld Indian is an excellent choice! Not by chance this opening is one of the main weapons of some top grandmasters!
There followed 33...Ng4 34.Rc7 Nxe5 35.f4 Rd3 (a key move for Black) 36.Rxd3 Nxd3 37.Rxf7+ Kg8 38.Rd7 b3
Four moves later, Firouzja was forced to give up his knight to stop the b-pawn. The youngster kept fighting until move 74, despite there being little to no chances to save a half point. Commentator Peter Svidler, who has famously resigned what were considered to be salvable positions in the past, quipped:
I’ve resigned in better positions.
The fighting spirit shown by the contenders bodes well for the French team, as the Europeans are likely to have Firouzja and MVL on top boards in the upcoming Chennai Olympiad.
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 c6 5.Bg2 d5 6.0-0 0-0 7.Ne5 dxc4 8.Nxc4 Be6 9.b3 Bd5 10.Bb2 Nbd7!? 11.Nc3 Bxg2 12.Kxg2 12...b5N 12...Nb6 13.e4 Qc7 14.Qe2 Rfd8 15.Rfd1 Nfd7 16.Rac1 Nxc4 17.bxc4 Qb6 18.f4 Nf8 13.Nd2 e5 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Nde4 Neg4 16.Nxf6+ Nxf6 16...Qxf6 17.e4 Qe6 18.Qc2 Rad8 17.Qc2 Qe7 18.Rfe1 Qc5 19.Rac1 Rfe8 20.Nd1 Qxc2 21.Rxc2 Re6 22.Ne3 Rd8 23.Nf1 Nd5 24.Bxg7 Kxg7 25.a3 a5 26.Nd2 b4 27.a4 Re3 28.Rxc6 28.Rb2!? Re7 29.Nc4 28...Rc3 29.Nc4 Rxb3 30.e4 Re8 31.Nd6 Re6 32.Rd1 Nf6 33.e5 33.Rd4= 33...Ng4-+ 33...Rxe5 34.Rc7 Nd5 35.Rxf7+ Kg8 36.Rd7± 34.Rc7 Nxe5 35.f4 Rd3 36.Rxd3 Nxd3 37.Rxf7+ Kg8 38.Rd7 38...b3! 39.Rd8+ Kg7 40.Rd7+ Kf8 41.Nc4 b2 42.Nxb2 Nxb2 43.Ra7 Nxa4 44.Rxa5 Nb6 45.g4 45.f5 Re2+ 46.Kh3 45...Nd7 45...Rd6-+ 46.f5 gxf5 47.Rxf5+ Kg7 46.Kg3 46.f5 gxf5 47.Rxf5+ Kg7 48.Ra5 46...Re3+ 47.Kh4 Nf6 48.Ra8+ Kf7 49.Ra7+ Re7 50.Ra5 Ne4 51.f5 Rd7 52.fxg6+? 52.Ra4 Re7 53.fxg6+ hxg6 54.Kh3 52...hxg6 53.Ra4 Re7 54.Ra5 Kf6 55.g5+ Kf7 56.Kg4 Nd6 57.Ra4 Nf5 58.h4? 58.Kf3 58...Ng7 59.Kf3 Nh5 60.Rb4 Rd7 60...Re1 61.Rb6 Rf1+ 62.Kg2 Rf4 61.Kg4 Rd6 61...Rd1 62.Rb6 Rd4+ 63.Kh3 Ra4 62.Re4 Rd1 62...Rd3 63.Re7+ Kg8 64.Re8+ Kf7 65.Re7+ Kg8 66.Re8+ Kh7 67.Rh8+ Kg7 68.Rg8+ Kh7 69.Rxg6 Kxg6= 63.Ra4 Ke6 64.Ra6+ Rd6 65.Ra4 Ke5 66.Ra3 Rd4+ 66...Ke4 67.Ra7 Rd4 68.Re7+ Kd3+ 69.Kf3 Rf4+ 70.Kg2 Rxh4 67.Kh3 Kf5 68.Ra5+ Ke4 69.Kg4 Ke3+ 70.Kh3 Re4 71.Ra1 Kf2 72.Ra2+ Kf3 73.Ra3+ Re3 74.Ra4 Nf4+ 0–1 - Start an analysis engine:
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Firouzja,A | 2804 | Vachier Lagrave,M | 2750 | 0–1 | 2022 | | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 9.3 |
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Alireza Firouzja vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Photo: Lennart Ootes
All four remaining games finished drawn in round 9, which meant So, Aronian and MVL had tied for first place on 5½ points. A single round-robin between the three would decide the winner of the event. The time control was 10 minutes for the game with 5-second increments from the get go.
In the first encounter, So beat Aronian with the white pieces. The Filipino-born star struggled to convert a clearly superior position into a win, and then failed to find a tactical shot which would have gained him the title in the next game — he had the black pieces against MVL.
Vachier-Lagrave vs. So - Playoff
So played 32...Qg4 and the position is balanced. Instead, he had 32...Qe2+ 33.Kg2 Re5, when White’s queen is overloaded — she cannot defend both the bishop and the rook from d6, as that square is covered by the f5-knight.
This was only the first major chance missed in the game. The 10-minute encounter lasted 52 moves and saw both players failing to find tactical shots while short on time. So was the one making the last mistake, though, which meant he and MVL were tied on 1 point with one game to go. (You can replay all games from the playoff at the end of the article).

Wesley So showed incredible resourcefulness in defence against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Photo: Lennart Ootes
MVL only needed a draw with black against Aronian to clinch the title. The Frenchman’s prowess in fast-paced games came to the fore in the deciding game, as he first got a strong initiative and then a material advantage.
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Perhaps because he only needed a half point, MVL often chose safe continuations instead of tactical, winning manoeuvres. Nonetheless, a blunder by Aronian on move 60 granted the man from Nogent-sur-Marne his third full point of the day.
Aronian vs. Vachier-Lagrave - Playoff
The only move that keeps the balance is 60.Be4 as, for example, 60...Rxe4 61.Qg1+ allows White to save a draw by perpetual check. On the other hand, Aronian’s 60.Qc8+ loses immediately to 60...Kh7, when White has run out of threats.

The final game of the 2022 Superbet Chess Classic | Photo: Lennart Ootes
All games - Playoff
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- 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.
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Round 9 results
Final standings
All games
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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- 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.
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