Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

About

French chess grandmaster who has been widely hailed as one of the strongest players of his generation. Often referred to by the initials MVL, he has regularly placed among the world's top-ranked players and elite tournament rankings. Among his many achievements, he has won the French Chess Championship several times as well as elite events like the Sinquefield Cup. He is also a former World Blitz Champion and has been ranked the seventh-highest rated player in history with a peak rating of 2819.

Before fame

He learned chess as a child and began to emerge as a prodigy in the French chess scene at an early age. He earned the title of grandmaster in 2005 when he was only 14 years old. He went on to obtain a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the EPFL - Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne in 2010.

Trivia

He made a cameo appearance in the 2015 French chess film Le Tournoi (The Tournament). In 2025, he became the first chess player in esports history when he was signed to the French esports organization Team Vitality.

Family life

He was first introduced to chess by his father. He grew up alongside his parents and sister in the suburbs of Paris.

Associated with

He has gone head-to-head with many of the world's elite chess players, including Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian.