Featured is an instructive rapid chess game between Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Praggnanandhaa from the Semifinals of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour Finals. From a Caro-Kann Advance, Tal Variation, the light-squared bishops are traded early, and the queens leave the board by move 13. Praggnanandhaa steers the game toward a three-minor-piece endgame, allowing White to maintain three advanced pawns on the fifth rank. This approach proves problematic. MVL’s technique highlights the power of the bishop over the knight, turning this endgame into a textbook study example.
#GrandChessTour #MaximeVachierLagrave #Praggnanandhaa
Image of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave by Lennart Ootes
lennartootes.com
I’m a self-taught National Master in chess out of Pennsylvania, USA who was introduced to the game by my father in 1988 at the age of 8. The purpose of this channel is to share my knowledge of chess to help others improve their game. I enjoy continuing to improve my understanding of this great game, albeit slowly. Consider subscribing here on YouTube for frequent content, and/or connecting via any or all the below social medias. Your support is greatly appreciated. Take care, bye. 🙂
★ LICHESS.ORG https://lichess.org/@/Chess-Network
★ CHESS.COM https://www.chess.com/member/chessnetwork?ref_id=1552369 (affiliate link)
★ TWITCH http://twitch.tv/ChessNetwork
★ TWITTER http://twitter.com/ChessNetwork
★ FACEBOOK http://facebook.com/ChessNetwork
★ PATREON https://www.patreon.com/ChessNetwork
★ DONATE https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=QLV226E6FUUWG
PGN
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h6 5. Bd3 Bxd3 6. Qxd3 e6 7. h5 c5 8. c3 Nc6 9. Ne2 Rc8 10. a3 Qa5 11. O-O Nge7 12. Nd2 Qa6 13. Qxa6 bxa6 14. b4 cxd4 15. cxd4 Rc7 16. Bb2 Nc8 17. Rac1 Nb6 18. Nf4 Be7 19. Nd3 O-O 20. Rc2 Rfc8 21. Rfc1 Bd8 22. Kf1 Kf8 23. g4 a5 24. b5 Nb8 25. Rxc7 Rxc7 26. Rxc7 Bxc7 27. Nc5 Bd8 28. a4 N8d7 29. Ke2 Ke8 30. f4 Be7 31. Ndb3 Nc4 32. Bc3 Ndb6 33. f5 Bxc5 34. Nxc5 Ke7 35. Be1 exf5 36. gxf5 Nb2 37. Bxa5 N2xa4 38. Bb4 Ke8 39. Nxa4 Nxa4 40. e6 Nb6 41. Bc5 Nc8 42. Kf3 Nb6 43. Kf4 f6 44. Ke3 Nc8 45. Kd3 Nb6 46. Kc3 Nc4 47. Bxa7 Nd6 48. b6 Kd8 49. Bb8 Nxf5 50. b7 Ne7 51. Bd6 Nc6 52. Kd3 Ke8 53. Ke3