Category: The Endgame

August 11, 2017 Matthew Sadler 4 comments

Playing 2 or even 3 games a day makes a weekend tournament into a test of endurance. Being able to defeat weaker players without expending too much energy is a key skill of the seasoned road warrior. I didn’t manage to demonstrate this skill convincingly in either Limburg or Haarlem. My second rounds in particular…

July 29, 2017 Matthew Sadler No comments exist

We carry on our examination of my games from the recent 2017 Limburg Open with brief episodes from 2 crucial games: my win against the Dutch IM Koen Leenhouts in the 5th round which took me to shared first, and the crazy finale to the tournament against Ivan Sokolov which secured me a share of…

June 1, 2017 Matthew Sadler 12 comments

Perhaps my most interesting game was the long struggle against 3C’s Adam Ashton on the second day of the last weekend. During and after the game, I had a number of thoughts about the practical side of converting a slight advantage, and after writing them down, I thought it was worth sharing them with you!…

April 21, 2017 Matthew Sadler No comments exist

While rummaging through some old score sheets, I came across a couple of interesting rook endings which I thought were worth sharing. They were both played for Solingen in the Bundesliga just after I retired from professional chess and started a full-time job in Amsterdam. In both cases, I was on the grinding side of…

April 7, 2017 Matthew Sadler No comments exist

In this article, I look back to an ending I played in the 4NCL in November 2015. It was a weekend of endgames for me as the queens came off the next day as soon as move 14!   I reached the position in the diagram after 31 rather dour moves. I felt my position…