Category: Openings

November 13, 2021 Matthew Sadler No comments exist

In my new book “The Silicon Road to Chess Improvement” I spend a whole chapter on engine sacrifices. One of the many sacrifices that engines play nowadays are sacrifices to clear lines for their major pieces. We saw many such long-term sacrifices from AlphaZero and modern engines are just as ready – indeed eager – to do so! One great example was from the game Combusken-rofChade in round 3 of the ongoing TCEC Swiss 2 (https://tcec-chess.com/#div=sw2&game=102&season=21)
Engines can teach us how to play like Tal or Shirov at their best! Understanding this theme is a key building block in creating promising attacking positions.

November 7, 2021 Matthew Sadler No comments exist

Komodo plays a model Grunfeld against Igel, pushing rook’s pawns AlphaZero-style on both wings to squeeze Black for space then cutting through Black’s porous kingside dark squares with a fine exchange sacrifice.
Any 1.d4 players who face the Grunfeld should note this as a model game: it’s a perfect example of what White should be aiming for!

October 30, 2021 Matthew Sadler No comments exist

One of the things I like when watching engine games are evaluations that surprise me. In particular I look out for positions that seem reasonable to human eyes but which produce a high engine evaluation. It’s struck me how often I am misled by plausible-looking development schemes.

March 6, 2021 Matthew Sadler 2 comments

It’s Chess960 time at the TCEC! (https://tcec-chess.com) The more I watch these games, the more I feel that the gap between humans and engines is even higher in Chess960 than in normal chess. I loved the opening phase of this game between two of the less famous engines on show. I’m not sure I would…