Chess grandmaster breaks world record by drawing 22 classical games in a row

World #22 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has long been a fixture of the chess elite, but he has now etched his name into the record books with the exact same number: 22 consecutive draws in classical chess across three tournaments and three and a half months of play.

While patzers like myself will inevitably blunder something in a drawn rook and pawn endgame, chess grandmasters are cut from a different cloth, and they can steer most of the even positions to a drawn conclusion. This is especially true in classical chess, the pinnacle of the royal game, where the oceans of time available to think allow them to play with incredible precision.

Still, 22 draws in a row is such an outlier that it now marks a new world record. As spotted on Reddit, the French super-GM started his mild streak (no way we can call it hot) with eight draws in a German team event followed by nine split points in the Grand Chess Tour’s Superbet Classic leg, and he is now on five ties in the prestigious Sinquefield Cup.

That isn’t to say he’s been playing quietly: just to sample his recent games, MVL had some fantastic chances against fellow compatriot Alireza Firouzja and other opportunities to score a W. Still, this many draws in a row highlights the concerning tendencies of modern classical chess at the highest levels of play.

Back in January 2019, Magnus Carlsen posted the longest such run in history, with 21 draws in a row – but for what it’s worth, this included an even-keeled world championship match against Fabiano Caruana, which went to rapid tiebreaks after twelve close-fought draws in a row. Back then, Leonard Barden of The Guardian called this “an unwanted record,” noting that Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri, with a reputation for drawish tendencies, held the previous high mark with 20 consecutive split points.

Then again, it could be worse. It could be 22 defeats in a row. But that record is for the patzers like myself.