Category: The Middlegame

September 8, 2017 Matthew Sadler 2 comments

In this column, we continue our examination of episodes from the ROC Nova College Open in July. Going into the last round I was leading with 4,5 / 5 after a tightly-controlled win with Black against the second seed GM Maxim Turov. I had been expecting to play another GM but the pairing system threw…

August 24, 2017 Matthew Sadler No comments exist

In this column, we start to take a look at some interesting moments from the recent Nova College tournament in Haarlem which I managed to win for the 4th time, and for the 3rd time outright. I wasn’t at my best for most of the tournament, but that led at least to plenty of excitement!…

June 15, 2017 Matthew Sadler No comments exist

My first game of the last 4NCL weekend was a fraught draw against Matthew Turner which fitted in well with the pattern of the match in which we scraped past the Barbican amateurs with a 4,5-3,5 win.   The game ended quickly, but after a quick swim to get rid of the frustration and tension,…

March 23, 2017 Matthew Sadler 2 comments

I didn’t feel in great shape at the last 4 NCL weekend in March, but I did have an interesting middlegame on the Sunday morning which gave me some nice analysis practice on the early morning flight back to Amsterdam! My preparation for the weekend had mainly consisted of analysing games of HE Atkins and…

February 16, 2017 Matthew Sadler 2 comments

The 4NCL continued in Northampton on 14th-15th January 2017. Fortified by 2 lovely meals courtesy of our generous captain Roger Emerson, I managed to produce a nice attacking finish on the Sunday morning. Presumably I’d need 4 great meals to play well both days! The attack had some unusual points and my investigations prompted the…