Norwegian Aryan Tari resigns to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the third round. | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com
Written by Mike Klein | Read the full report at https://www.chess.com/news/view/mvl-leads-list-of-6-perfect-scores-remaining-after-isle-of-man-rd-3
While other world top-10s have had their struggles at the 2018 Chess.com Isle of Man International, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave keeps making it look easy through three rounds. Even a birthday celebration couldn't stop his lucid play. He's faring just as well as a 28-year-old as he did at 27.
The top French player of all time leads the pack of a half-dozen GMs on 3.0/3. He was also the first to get to that score by switching to 1.d4, as he expected a Grunfeld, where he has no shortage of knowledge. When that didn't come, he said he borrowed an idea that GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarovplayed against him in blitz in St. Louis this year.