Maxime Vachier-Lagrave France’s best player and the 2021 World Blitz Champion
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, often called MVL, is France’s strongest player, the 2021 World Blitz Champion and two-time winner of the Sinquefield Cup. MVL is a dynamic, tactical player and one of the great experts of the Najdorf Sicilian and the Grünfeld. He is at his very best in sharp positions and fast time controls.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave: key facts
- Full name
- Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
- Born
- October 21, 1990, Nogent-sur-Marne, France
- Country
- France
- Title
- Grandmaster (2005)
- FIDE rating
- 2717 (October 2026 list) · world No. 23
- Peak rating
- 2819
- Games in the archive
- 5,554 (1999–2025)
- Record in the archive
- 2,327 wins · 2,224 draws · 1,002 losses
- Win rate
- 41.9%
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's career
The results that made the name
Vachier-Lagrave in numbers
From the 5,554 games in the Rama Chess archive
He became a grandmaster at 14 and was World Junior Champion in 2009. In August 2016 he reached 2819 and world number 2. He finished second in the 2020–21 Candidates. On the October 2026 FIDE list he is rated 2717, world number 23.
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