This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Matthew Sadler, one of the most versatile chess lovers in the universe. In a lively conversation with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, the English grandmaster touches on a variety of subjects, spicing up his stories with fascinating observations, sound advice and not-to-be-missed reading tips.

Matthew Sadler is a two-time British Champion, a streamer, an expert in chess engines, a successful author and, as he is no longer a professional player – after all, he has a fulltime job in IT - he is often called the world’s strongest amateur. One of Matthew’s latest interests is humans taking on engines that give their opponents odds. Would you like to play an engine with an extra knight? Or rather with an extra queen? You’d be surprised how much you’d learn from those games, as Matthew explains with his contagious enthusiasm.

He also looks at the recent Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee, won by an impressive Praggnanandhaa, and the first leg of the new Freestyle Grand Slam that took place in Weissenhaus. While Vincent Keymer stunned Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana to claim the $200,000 first prize, the event also led to heated chess-political discussions around the globe.

0:00 – Intro

2:16 – Matthew’s fascination with recent odds games played by chess engine Leela

9:02 – Has Matthew been following Freestyle chess?

17:08 – Tata Steel

22:37 – Which recent books have especially impressed Matthew?

29:36 – The erosion of strategic principles in favor of pure calculation in the computer era

36:14 – AD BREAK

36:45 – Matthew’s love for historical chess books

39:25 – The legacy of lesser-known players like Efim Bogoljubow, David Janowski and Frank Marshall

45:00 – Matthew’s love for Zukertort and dislike for Steinitz

46:55 – The GOAT debate and why Matthew thinks the “Big Three” debate is unfair

53:24 – AD BREAK

54:21 – How modern chess does not require “classic chess education”

55:53 – The influence of Kasparov’s “modern” opening preparation

57:48 – Matthew previews the year 2025 and his expectations for Gukesh, Pragg, Keymer and Nodirbek

1:05:00 – The Gideon Ståhlberg biography

1:07:06 - Outro