Game Of the Week: GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs. GM Etienne Bacrot

GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs. GM Etienne Bacrot

Opening: A13: English opening

Player(s): Vachier-Lagrave, Bacrot

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Many of the recent tournaments around the world have been blitz, rapid or blindfold. For some slow chess, let's head over again to the German Bundesliga. This week features action from a round five match between two of the league powerhouses, Baden-Baden and Mulheim Nord.
The two teams came in with competitive rosters, though the ridiculously stacked Baden Baden was playing without their top five guys who typically have something more important to do. So the top board in this German match pitted two Frenchmen, Maxime Vachier Lagrave and Etienne Bacrot. I like this game because it highlights some interesting opening/middlegame strategy and shows how easily even strong grandmasters can drift from the demands of a position.