John Bartholomew

In this continuation of the "Climbing the Rating Ladder" series I take on players of various ratings levels while pointing out typical mistakes and spots for improvement along the way (possibly my own!? :)). Here I commentate a 10+0 game against a player rated 2140 on Chess.com. The King's Indian Attack (1.Nf3, 2.g3, and 3.Bg2) is a popular system where White typically castles … [Read more...] about Blunting the King’s Indian Attack | Climbing the Rating Ladder vs. 2140

Inspired by the Semi-Averbakh System against the King's Indian Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Bg5), I deploy my bishops to e2 and e3 against my opponent's Pirc Defense (1.e4 d6) in this 15+15 game. This approach allows for a potentially dangerous attack against Black's king with my g and h-pawns, and Black must be quick to create counterplay or risk … [Read more...] about Attacking the Pirc Defense with g & h-pawns | Standard Chess #306

In this continuation of the "Climbing the Rating Ladder" series I take on players of various ratings levels while pointing out typical mistakes and spots for improvement along the way (possibly my own!? :)). Here I commentate a 10+0 game against a player rated 2109 on Chess.com. The Kalashnikov Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5) can be considered to be a more … [Read more...] about Careless move order in the Kalashnikov Sicilian | Climbing the Rating Ladder vs. 2101

The Accelerated Dragon (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6) is a durable option for Back in the Sicilian galaxy. Compared to the normal Dragon, Black may benefit from withholding ...d7-d6 in favor of the direct strike ...d7-d5. In this game, my opponent and I play into an unbalanced variation featuring a different pawn push, 8...a5. Although I'm out of book on move 11, my … [Read more...] about Crash Course in the Accelerated Dragon | Standard Chess #305

In this continuation of the "Climbing the Rating Ladder" series I take on players of various ratings levels while pointing out typical mistakes and spots for improvement along the way (possibly my own!? :)). Here I commentate a 10+0 game against a player rated 1690 on Chess.com. The Anti-Fried Liver Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6?!) is a popular response to the Italian … [Read more...] about Cracking Down on the Anti-Fried Liver (3…h6?!) | Climbing the Rating Ladder vs. 1690