The Silicon Road to Chess Improvement: Chess Engine Training Methods, Opening Strategies & Middlegame Techniques

by Matthew Sadler

‘How can I learn from AlphaZero’s games, aren’t they too advanced for me?’ many club players asked Matthew Sadler after reading his and Natasha Regan’s groundbreaking Game Changer. Here is the you may not be able to replicate their dazzling deep calculations, but every chess player, from club level up, can improve their game by using engines. You will probably be surprised, there is so much more your engine can do for you than just checking and calculating variations! In this thought-provoking new book, based on many years of working with the world’s best chess software, Sadler presents a unique set of methods to work out using your engine. He shows how in your opening preparation, instead of sifting through masses of computer analysis you should play matches against your engine. He also explains how to train your early middlegame play, the conversion of advantages, your positional play, and your defence. And of how to analyse your own games. These generic training methods Sadler supplements with concrete middlegame and opening tools. He explains how the top engines tackle crucial middlegame themes such as entrenched pieces, whole board play, ‘attacking rhythm’, exchanging pieces, the march of the Rook’s pawn, queen versus pieces, and many others. He also opens your eyes to typical scenarios that the engines found and fine-tuned in popular openings such as the King’s Indian, the Grünfeld, the Slav, the French and the Sicilian. Sadler illustrates his lessons with a collection of fantastic games, explained with his trademark enthusiasm. For the first time the superhuman powers of the chess engine have been decoded to the benefit of all players, in a rich and highly instructive book.

Genres: Chess

496 pages, Paperback

Published January 15, 2022

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always regretted that I never had time to dive deeply into the fascinating world of computer chess. Thank God that somebody, who is a much better player and more eloquent than me, has collected and produced a book with a highly instructional value.
This book is a superb product of the 21st century, a textbook for middle-games unlike any other on the market. As such, it deserves to have a hardcover edition, since the validity of the analysis will last for a long long time.
Thank you, Mr Sadler!