Perpetual Chess Podcast

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 i