Category: The Middlegame

May 25, 2016 Matthew Sadler No comments exist

One of my favourite pieces of chess literature is the short 1964 article by Robert J Fischer entitled “The 10 greatest masters in history” which Edward Winter has made available on his excellent Chess History site (http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/fischer4.html) The first time I read it, I dismissed Fischer’s views as eccentric, but the more I learn, the…

April 12, 2016 Matthew Sadler 5 comments

Last weekend was my debut as a birthday present! A colleague asked me whether I would be interested in giving a chess lesson to his brother who had just turned 50 and who was keen on chess. Not only did it turn out to be a lovely Sunday, I also learnt a lot myself! The…

March 22, 2016 Matthew Sadler 2 comments

One of the nicest themes we discuss in “Chess for Life” comes up in the chapter on Sergei Tiviakov. In this chapter we discuss one of Sergei’s most significant contributions to chess theory: the 3…Qd6 Scandinavian (1.e4 d5 2.ed Qd5 3.Nc3 Qd6). While writing the book, I played the opening a few times to get…

February 29, 2016 Matthew Sadler No comments exist

One of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in the past couple of years is “Learn from the Legends – Chess Champions at their Best” by Mihail Marin (Quality Chess). Marin takes 9 great champions – Rubinstein, Alekhine, Botvinnik, Tal, Petrosian, Fischer, Karpov, Kortchnoi and Carlsen – and examines a particular facet of their play…