‘We are far from favourites’: France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave says India is not the only contender for Chess Olympiad

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave named India among the candidates for the Chess Olympiad NEW DELHI: The 46th edition of the Chess Olympiad started in style for the French men’s team on Wednesday as they secured a clean sweep 4-0 over lowly Tunisia. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, popularly known as MVL, was missing in action as the Board 1 player was rested, perhaps much needed after a grueling week of matches in India’s Global Chess League (GCL).This time the French team enters the fray with a solid line-up that includes MVL, Étienne Bacrot, Maxime Lagarde, Jules Moussard and the younger Marc’Andria Maurizzi. Sébastien Mazé serves as captain.But ask MVL if France can win the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, and he won’t reach for a diplomatic assurance, a motivational cliché or a line about how anything can happen in the Swiss system.“We are far from popular,” he told TimesofIndia.com during an exclusive interaction. “But we’ve got a good solid team and I think everybody’s really motivated. So that’s all I can say and we’re hoping for the best.”So who do you think are the favourites?“There are three main favourites, I think. Even four, I would say. USA, India, China and Uzbekistan,” added the French grandmaster.Four teams without hesitation named, France not among them, the man to lead France from its top table. This is not pessimism. Spend twenty minutes on MVL and it becomes clear that it is something closer to the opposite.He has a firm, unsentimental clarity about what he can and cannot control, the very mindset that has kept him at the top of the sport for the better part of two decades.

Chess started as a hobby for MVL

“I learned the rules at the age of five and gradually I enjoyed the game more and more and I started to win,” recalled MVL. “As a kid, it’s always a way to pick up a hobby or a passion. The more you win, the more you want to play.”What he hadn’t counted on was permanence.“I didn’t know then that thirty years later I would still be doing basically just that as my profession,” he continued. “But here we are and hopefully I have a few good years left.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave at the 2024 Chess Olympiad (Photo: FIDE)

Even when talking about his own longevity, the 35-year-old rejects exaggerated claims. He’s also careful not to romanticize the profession, though he defends the choice that led him to what he now calls “a great decision.”“Overall, it’s easier for me because it’s obviously something I’ve loved deeply since childhood,” he told the site. “But of course, like any profession, it has certain moments of doubt, some moments that are not so easy. I think I made a great decision twenty years ago.”

The philosophy of MVL

There were setbacks along the way, but he learned to put them aside.“For everyone, every athlete, every chess player, there are moments of doubt, moments when things don’t go so well. It’s just important not to focus on those moments. But to learn the lessons that need to be learned and focus on the moments of joy,” he said.“The improvement curve can’t be a straight line. It has some ups and downs. You just always have to look ahead to the ups.”

Every time I come to India, I feel very tired in the morning, no matter how much I slept.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, French Grandmaster

MVL has had a good time in India over the last fortnight, playing Mumba Masters who finished fourth in GCL Season 4, although there weren’t many sights for him, why?“Every time I come to India, I feel very tired in the morning, no matter how I slept,” he admitted a little apologetically.In addition to chess, small tours and tired mornings in India, he found friends who stayed up late to play board games with him, and in his spare time physical sports such as padel. When he is alone and has some time to himself, his downtime turns to a variation of Sudoku.READ ALSO: Chess Olympiad: How India’s Arjun Erigaisi Suffers Biggest Round 1 Upset Against Lower-Rated OpponentIn Samarkand, he’ll be sitting on the deck of 1 team he’s already told you aren’t favorites, and then he’ll probably play like nobody mentioned him.