{"id":3557,"date":"2023-12-13T14:40:24","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T14:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/?p=3557"},"modified":"2023-12-13T14:40:26","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T14:40:26","slug":"book-review-study-chess-with-matthew-sadler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/book-review-study-chess-with-matthew-sadler\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>Review: Study Chess with Matthew Sadler\u00a0<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\"><strong>Book<\/strong> <strong>Review of Study Chess with Matthew Sadler&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\">\u201c<em>I suppose you could call this book a collection of my personal &#8216;Eureka!&#8217; experiences, those wonderful moments when something complicated suddenly feels as natural and as easy as breathing<\/em>.\u201d \u2013 the author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/author-of-the-month-matthew-sadler\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GM Matthew Sadler<\/a> is a strong British grandmaster with a peak rating just below 2700. He had an extended break from professional chess from 2004 \u2013 2010, before deciding to make a comeback in 2010. As he says, he got the urge to play again, but more importantly, to \u2018play <em>well<\/em> again\u2019 This book, written in 2012, is a summary of how he made the comeback and the trials and tribulations of his return.&nbsp; He has continued to play sporadically since that time and remarkably has managed to increase his rating since his return.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Untitled-design-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3558\" width=\"305\" height=\"431\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:13px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/sample\/study-chess-with-matthew-sadler\" style=\"background-color:#a8b1d2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>View Free Sample<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:14px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The book is divided into six chapters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Discovering New Ideas in the Opening<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Introducing New Ideas Easily into your Opening Repertory<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Playing Unorthodox Openings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Types of Thinking in the Middlegame<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>That Didn\u2019t Quite Work Out\u2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thinking in Endgames<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Not surprisingly, openings are a dominant theme in the book, as opening research is essential for success at the professional level. Sadler suggests various ways to generate ideas during an analysis session, such as \u2018disturbing the material balance\u2019, \u2018acts of wanton aggression\u2019, and the \u2018spoilsport gambit (exchanging queens)\u2019. The humor in the titles is a common theme in the book. He suggests that \u2018crossover themes\u2019 (borrowing ideas from other openings) is a particularly fruitful technique. The themes are examined through a series of annotated games with insightful commentary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is an example of the crossover theme, with annotations from the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:21px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf67e37e026-1\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgame\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf67e37e026-1\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderPGN($(selector), {\"pgn\":\"[Event \\\"Haarlem Nova College op-A\\\"]\\n[Site \\\"Haarlem\\\"]\\n[Date \\\"2010.07.03\\\"]\\n[Round \\\"2\\\"]\\n[White \\\"Van Oosterom\\\"]\\n[Black \\\"Sadler\\\"]\\n[Result \\\"0-1\\\"]\\n[ECO \\\"B00\\\"]\\n[WhiteElo \\\"2413\\\"]\\n[BlackElo \\\"2617\\\"]\\n[PlyCount \\\"20\\\"]\\n[EventDate \\\"2010.07.02\\\"]\\n[EventType \\\"swiss\\\"]\\n[EventRounds \\\"6\\\"]\\n[EventCountry \\\"NED\\\"]\\n[SourceTitle \\\"CBM 137 Extra\\\"]\\n[Source \\\"ChessBase\\\"]\\n[SourceDate \\\"2010.09.01\\\"]\\n[SourceVersion \\\"1\\\"]\\n[SourceVersionDate \\\"2010.09.01\\\"]\\n[SourceQuality \\\"1\\\"]\\n\\n1. e4 a6 $5 2. d4 h6 $5 3. Bd3 c5 4. dxc5 e6 5. Be3 Qc7 6. b4 Nc6 7. c3 {Pretty much as expected. I continue in standard Basman style, trying to pretend that I hadn&#8217;t just lost a central pawn for nothing.} d6 8. cxd6 Bxd6 9. Nf3 Nf6 10. h3 {One of those life-defining moments. To be absolutely honest, I was wondering what had possessed me to play this opening in the morning round of this strong weekend tournament. I wasn&#8217;t feeling that sharp-witted, I was already starting to fall behind on the clock, I was really missing my central pawn&#8230; and in a stunning moment of clarity, I realized that I really did not fancy losing like a complete idiot. Then all of a sudden, it struck me that I was just looking at a Queen&#8217;s Gambit Accepted. Granted, one where White has an extra pawn on the c-file, but well&#8230; you can see the positive side to that too: the black queen is nice and safe on c7 now. Forget all those nice classical ideas you&#8217;ve been looking at so far like castling and developing. Think Polugaevsky. What I really needed to do was to fight with all my might for the use of the e5-square. By any means possible. And then I understood that I had one good positional move in this position. This one move changed everything for me!} g5 $1 0-1\",\"pieceSymbols\":\"native\",\"navigationBoard\":\"scrollLeft\",\"withFlipButton\":true,\"withDownloadButton\":true,\"nboSquareSize\":32,\"nboCoordinateVisible\":true,\"nboTurnVisible\":true,\"nboColorset\":\"original\",\"nboPieceset\":\"cburnett\",\"nboAnimated\":true,\"nboMoveArrowVisible\":true,\"nboMoveArrowColor\":\"r\",\"idoSquareSize\":32,\"idoCoordinateVisible\":true,\"idoTurnVisible\":true,\"idoColorset\":\"original\",\"idoPieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:26px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Sadler went on to win the game in 22 moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This example is typical of Sadler\u2019s writing style. He clearly explains the background and motivation for his moves, and all of this is done in an engaging and personal style. Of course, not all his experiments worked out well, and Sadler doesn\u2019t shy away from giving examples of where things went badly wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Middlegame planning is another important theme in the book. Here, Sadler describes three types of thinking, namely active thinking, reactive thinking, and prophylactic thinking, and gives examples of each type. He also provides exercises for the reader to solve. These are quite different from the normal \u2018find the winning move\u2019 exercises and involve answering more general questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:16px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf67e37e026-2\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgame\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf67e37e026-2\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderPGN($(selector), {\"pgn\":\"[Event \\\"Oslo op\\\"]\\n[Site \\\"Oslo\\\"]\\n[Date \\\"2011.10.02\\\"]\\n[Round \\\"1\\\"]\\n[White \\\"Sadler\\\"]\\n[Black \\\"Kovachev\\\"]\\n[Result \\\"1-0\\\"]\\n[ECO \\\"C77\\\"]\\n[WhiteElo \\\"2625\\\"]\\n[BlackElo \\\"2332\\\"]\\n[SetUp \\\"1\\\"]\\n[FEN \\\"r4r1k\\\/3q1ppn\\\/pbpp4\\\/1p2p3\\\/8\\\/1BPP1Q1P\\\/PP1B1PP1\\\/2KR3R b - - 0 21\\\"]\\n[PlyCount \\\"1\\\"]\\n[EventDate \\\"2011.10.02\\\"]\\n[EventType \\\"swiss\\\"]\\n[EventRounds \\\"9\\\"]\\n[EventCountry \\\"NOR\\\"]\\n[SourceTitle \\\"CBM 144 Extra\\\"]\\n[Source \\\"ChessBase\\\"]\\n[SourceDate \\\"2011.10.28\\\"]\\n[SourceVersion \\\"1\\\"]\\n[SourceVersionDate \\\"2011.10.28\\\"]\\n[SourceQuality \\\"1\\\"]\\n\\n 21... f5 $6 1-0\",\"pieceSymbols\":\"native\",\"navigationBoard\":\"scrollLeft\",\"withFlipButton\":true,\"withDownloadButton\":true,\"nboSquareSize\":32,\"nboCoordinateVisible\":true,\"nboTurnVisible\":true,\"nboColorset\":\"original\",\"nboPieceset\":\"cburnett\",\"nboAnimated\":true,\"nboMoveArrowVisible\":true,\"nboMoveArrowColor\":\"r\",\"idoSquareSize\":32,\"idoCoordinateVisible\":true,\"idoTurnVisible\":true,\"idoColorset\":\"original\",\"idoPieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:18px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In this position, the questions are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li>What do you <em>want<\/em>?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How do you achieve it?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Sadler proceeds to annotate the remainder of the game to answer these two questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the final chapter, Sadler offers some endgame advice, particularly on the tricky issue of the transition from a middlegame to an endgame. He offers an interesting tip about this: \u201cConstantly checking how the position would be without queens really helped me to make a better job of making that mental switch in the heat of battle.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In summary, Sadler has written a fine book. It can be read as an autobiography of a particular time of his life, or as a highly accessible book on how to study in chess. It succeeds on both counts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:18px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-background\" style=\"background-color:#a8b1d2\"><strong>Have any thoughts or questions? Let us know in the comments!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For a limited time, get<em>&nbsp;Study Chess With Matthew Sadler&nbsp;<\/em>with a special 10% discount offer at&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/forwardchess.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">forwardchess.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:22px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/product\/study-chess-with-matthew-sadler\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Untitled-design-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3558\" width=\"305\" height=\"431\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:13px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Book Review of Study Chess with Matthew Sadler&nbsp; \u201cI suppose you could call this book&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3557"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3557"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3562,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3557\/revisions\/3562"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}