Matthew Nicholson

Sudbury Chess Player Positions Himself as Master

By: Jenny Jelen - Sudbury Northern Life

Matthew Nicholson

Photo-Sudbury Northern Life

Matthew Nicholson is a soldier on the battlefield of the mind. At 21, he is a master. A chess master.

The Lively native earned the title after a successful tournament in Guelph at the beginning of June. He is now one of two Sudburians proudly ranked as master by the Chess Federation of Canada. 

Master class is a testament to all the time and energy Nicholson has committed to improving his game. Nicholson plays online daily, and meets with other members of the Sudbury Chess Club weekly. 

He also studies strategy and goes through techniques on a regular basis. 

Since he graduated from Lively District Secondary School, where he joined the chess club, Nicholson said he has found the game fascinating.

“It appealed to how competitive I am,” he said. 

Unlike in team sports, Nicholson has no one to share the blame with when the outcome doesn't go the way he wants. And that's how he likes it.

While he only became competitive about chess in his teens, Nicholas learned the game as a child. 

“I learned when I was four or five, watching my grandpa play,” he said. 

Since his humble beginnings with the game, he has only enhanced his abilities.

He's taught himself “to be able to see all the patterns and be able to calculate” his plays. Part of that development has come from playing with Bob Kiviaho, Sudbury's only other chess master. 

“He keeps me sharp,” Nicholson said. (more)