Watching Mihai’s Marin analysis of Karpov’s middlegame skills on a recent Chessbase DVD has been a wonderful learning experience. Marin identified a facet of Karpov’s play that I had never noticed before: moving the same piece many times in succession. After this manoeuvre, no one knows why, but he’s better! Marin cites many examples. This …

I was saddened to hear last week that the great Russian trainer Mark Dvoretsky had died at the age of 68. As a tribute, I wanted to share my experiences of studying with Mark in the mid-90’s. I got the opportunity to do so while my friend (and former coach) Steve Giddins was working in …

In 1932, Bogoljubov and Spielmann played a 10-game match in Semmering, Austria which Spielmann edged 5,5-4,5. In his biography of Bogoljubov, Soloviov is dismissive of the match, stating “…after [Bogoljubov] won the first two games, he failed to press home a huge advantage in the third game and then he blundered a piece in game 4. …

The most intriguing part of a game is the turning point: exactly which moves shifted the objective balance of the game and put one of the players on the back foot? With complex games, I start analysing close to the end of the game from a position in which I can demonstrate a clear advantage …

A little while back I analysed the double-edged idea …c5-c4 in Queen’s Gambit Declined structures (http://matthewsadler.me.uk/chess-for-life/c5-c4-dogma/) and explained the conditions necessary to make this a viable plan for Black. At the recent Baku Olympiad, Nigel Short won a fascinating game in this structure against his young 2746-rated Chinese opponent:   Li,Chao b – Short,Nigel D …