3/19/2026 – In the latest episode of the English Chess Federation's Talented Tuesdays podcast, GM Matthew Sadler reflects on a formative game from his junior years that helped shape his chess identity. Discussing the challenges of finding a personal style, studying openings in the pre-digital era and balancing competitive chess with professional life, Sadler touches on his later work as an author. | Photo: Matthew Sadler's website
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Junior chess in the pre-digital era
The Talented Tuesdays podcast series was launched in November last year and is produced by the English Chess Federation. Hosted by GM Matthew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan, the weekly programme invites leading players and personalities to discuss a memorable game from their careers. The format centres on personal reflection, with guests explaining the significance of a chosen encounter and its influence on their chess development.
In the 19th episode of the series, it is host Matthew Sadler who goes over a game that defined his chess career.
In this course, you will learn the foundations and key ideas of the Vienna Game and discover a variety of systems that make you extremely difficult to prepare for. The Vienna Game is one of the most underrated openings in modern chess. While the Ruy Lopez and Italian dominate elite practice, the Vienna offers rich, creative play with far less theoretical burden and enormous practical value.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: 1: 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 - Martin vs Adams
Regan introduces Sadler as one of England's foremost grandmasters, noting his peak ranking among the world's top players and his long-standing contribution to chess both as a competitor and an author. Alongside his tournament career, Sadler has combined elite chess with professional work in information technology, reflecting a dual path that has shaped his perspective on the game.
Sadler has remained a prominent figure in chess literature and analysis. A two-time British Champion who later stepped back from full-time professional competition, he has devoted considerable attention to computer chess and training methods in recent years. Together with Natasha Regan, he co-authored influential works such as Game Changer, an award-winning study of AlphaZero's impact on human understanding of the game, and Chess for Life, which explores long-term improvement and the experiences of leading players across generations.
The discussion centres on a formative encounter from Sadler's junior years, played in 1984 when he was around ten and a half years old. Facing an opponent rated higher than himself, Sadler recalls the game as a significant milestone in his development, particularly in helping him recognise the playing style that would later define his approach to chess.
In reflecting on this period, Sadler highlights the broader challenge faced by promising young players: discovering their own "voice" over the board. Moving from local dominance to stronger competitive environments, he describes the process of learning which strategic and tactical themes suited his temperament.
The episode also offers insight into the practical realities of junior chess in the pre-digital era. Sadler recalls studying openings from handwritten notes prepared by his coach and navigating theoretical pitfalls without access to databases or online resources. He also reflects on experimenting with solid opening systems that did not always suit his natural style.
The aim of these Dvd's is to build a repertoire after 1.c4 and 2.g3 for White. The first DVD includes the systems 1...e5, the Dutch and Indian setups. The second DVD includes the systems with 1...c5, 1...c6 and 1...e6.
Winning starts with what you know The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
Carlos Alberto ColodroCarlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
2/1/2026 – The 88th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament is taking place from 17 January to 1 February and once again features the traditional structure of parallel Masters and Challengers tournaments, each consisting of 14 players competing in a single round-robin. Nodirbek Abdusattorov enters the final round as the sole leader in the Masters, while Andy Woodward and Aydin Suleymanli are tied for first place in the Challengers. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CET (6.00 ET, 16.30 IST)
11/26/2025 – Today marks the final day of the World Cup in Goa, which began on October 31. But the key question of who will play in the Candidates Tournament in March and April 2026 has already been settled: Wei Yi, Javokhir Sindarov and Andrey Esipenko are in. Now it’s “only” a matter of deciding who wins the tournament. That will be determined today in the tiebreak between Wei Yi and Sindarov. The winner takes home the title and 120,000 USD, the runner-up receives 85,000 USD. | Follow the action live with expert commentary starting at 10.30 CET (5.30 ET, 15.00 IST)
The Elephant Gambit (1.e4.e5 2.Nf3 d5!?) has never really been given the attention it deserves. It is a very useful surprise weapon. Let us list the advantages of playing this particular opening: 1) Shock value 2) It is very aggressive. Black can take over the initiative early. 3) Many tricky lines 4) Unorthodox. Black is basically taking the game to the opponent as early as move two. Not many openings do that! It's a perfect opening for young players and club players to adopt. Let Andrew Martin select a repertoire for you on this 60 mins, which, if used with discretion, will rack up the points. I am sure that you will enjoy this unusual tour of the Elephant Gambit.
YOUR EASY ACCESS TO OPENING THEORY: Whether you want to build up a reliable and powerful opening repertoire or find new opening ideas for your existing repertoire, the Opening Encyclopaedia covers the entire opening theory on one product.
The Queen’s Gambit Declined Exchange Variation with 5.Bf4 has a great balance between positional play and sharp pawn pushes; and will be a surprise for your opponents while being easy to learn for you, as the key patterns are familiar.
After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Qd3, White sidesteps mainline theory and steers the game into less explored, strategically rich positions.
In this course, you will learn the foundations and key ideas of the Vienna Game and discover a variety of systems that make you extremely difficult to prepare for.
Tata Steel 2026 with analyses by Bluebaum, Giri, L'Ami, Woodward and many more. Opening videos by Kasimdzhanov, Marin and Zwirs. 10 exciting opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more.
In this course, Dutch Grandmaster Jan Werle presents a modern and practical repertoire in the French Advance Variation, focusing on the critical line 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3.
One of the major battlegrounds of the Queen’s Gambit Declined is the Catalan, and against it Zwirs chose an ambitious strategy: accept the pawn and hold onto it with …c6 and …b5, aiming for an unbalanced fight from the very start.
€9.90
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