'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 answer: 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 course: 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.
