In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam talks to English grandmaster Matthew Sadler. Matthew returns to the New In Chess Podcast to look back on the year that’s almost behind us and cautiously look ahead to the year we’re about to enter. Matthew Sadler is a two-time British Champion, a streamer, a YouTuber, an expert in chess engines, and a prolific writer. The best-selling Game Changer, co-authored with Natasha Regan, on AlphaZero’s groundbreaking chess strategies and the promise of AI, was one of the most successful and talked about books of the past years. These days Matthew is an IT Consultant, but he makes no secret of the fact that he fills his spare time with as much chess as possible. And although the FIDE rating list no longer has him as an active player, his FIDE rating still hovers eerily close to 2700. In fact, Matthew might very well be the strongest amateur chess player in the world. Last but not least, Matthew is the highly popular book reviewer of New In Chess Magazine. For all these reasons, Matthew was invited to return to the New In Chess Podcast - to talk about the best books that came out and to discuss general tendencies and developments in the chess world. Matthew is a great conversationalist and storyteller. You’ll enjoy his stories about 19th century Scottish-American Master Captain Mackenzie, Yugoslav legends Albin Planinc and Dragoljub Velimirovic, the benefits and dangers of AI, and much more. Don’t miss it! 0:00 – Intro 2:55 – Matthew’s tells the story of Captain Mackenzie12:20 – AD BREAK 12:52 – Matthew’s favourite books of 2025 14:46 – The forgotten genius of Albin Planinc17:11 – Velimirovic21:13 – Chess history’s tendency to forget non-world champion players22:52 – David Bronstein25:31 – Mariotti32:21 – The upcoming Candidates Tournament35:23 – AD BREAK 36:21 – Players who didn’t qualify for the Candidates42:09 – Why 2026 will look very different in terms of top level chess 47:20 – Has Freestyle been a success in 2025?50:58 – Matthew’s field of expertise: chess and AI!55:11 – AD BREAK 55:48 – Why humans are moving towards a more engine-like style of play1:03:45 – Is the Benoni still alive? 1:05:10 – Is English chess entering a new Golden age? 1:09:00 – Outro

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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