MVL Grilled By Aronian On Achievements, Genius Claim And The Future Of Chess

Does GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave think he’s a genius? Can he reclaim a spot among the world’s elite? And does he feel blitz and rapid chess are as important as classical?

In a new episode of Chess.com's popular Lie Detector Chess series, the French grandmaster faced a different kind of challenge. Hooked up to a polygraph machine, MVL was forced to face tough questions from his good friend GM Levon Aronian. 

The 34-year-old from France has been among the world's leading grandmasters for the last decade, spending plenty of time among the top-five players. His rating peaked at 2819 in 2017, the seventh highest of all time. He has won numerous prestigious tournaments, but his biggest title came when he won the 2021 World Blitz Chess Championship.

Vachier-Lagrave is currently ranked 19th in the world and revealed he does not expect to make it back to the absolute top again. When asked whether he thinks he will make it to the top three in the next five years, MVL responded, "A bit unlikely."

One for the lie detector 🤥 pic.twitter.com/qZoQeNXFBI

— MVL (@Vachier_Lagrave) December 16, 2024

The response promoted Aronian to remark, “I thought you’d be more optimistic!” while MVL responded, "Rating has never been my main preoccupation. I care more about winning titles," he said. 

Rating has never been my main preoccupation. I care more about winning titles.

—Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Polygraph controller Orjan Hesjedal validated the response, but noted that there were a lot of reactions: "He has a big desire to be much better."

It turned out that catching MVL in a lie wouldn't be easy, as the Frenchman, at least according to the polygraph, responded candidly to the questions. Yes, he is happy with his achievements, and yes, he does think he is a genius. He never destroyed anything after losing a chess game, but  admitted he "acted in an aggressive way."

The polygraph also approved his answer when Aronian asked whether he hates anyone in the chess world. "Hate is a strong word, but probably yes."

A breakthrough came when Aronian asked whether he thinks blitz and rapid are as important as classical chess. "No," MVL replied, but the polygraph deemed the response a lie. "I got him with that question!" Aronian said.

MVL was also asked whether he has been afraid of an opponent using illegal assistance during games. "In general, afraid. Not with everybody, but I am pretty sure it has happened in the past."

MVL follows previous chess stars and personalities to appear in the series, most recently GMs Anish Giri and Vidit Gujrathi, Previously we have seen IM Levy Rozman, who was in the hot seat in January before GMs Magnus Carlsen and David Howell appeared in April. Even GM Hikaru Nakamura appeared with Chess.com's own IM Danny Rensch in one episode.

In the next episode of the series, it's Aronian's turn to be grilled by Vachier-Lagrave. Stay tuned for more Lie Detector Chess!