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 20+0 game against a player rated 1253 on Chess.com. Playing the Advance Variation against the Caro-Kann Defense (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5), my opponent … [Read more...] about In-vesting a Pawn against the Caro-Kann | Climbing the Rating Ladder vs. 1253

In a faster Standard game (10+2), I face an unusual line of the Sicilian, 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4!? cxd4 4.Qxd4 a6 and now the queenside fianchetto 5.b3!?. My opponent seemed familiar with this line, so I tried to relatively quickly and solidly without going out of my way to force matters. A critical moment arises in the middlegame where I spend two minutes calculating a key … [Read more...] about Managing the Clock in a Peculiar Sicilian | Standard Chess #297

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+5 game against a player rated 1088 on Chess.com. Black (another viewer!) chooses a savvy move order in the Queen's Gambit Declined (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 … [Read more...] about Opposite-side Castling in the QGD | Climbing the Rating Ladder vs. 1088

Facing another fast opponent, I essay the highly-regarded Nimzo-Indian Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4). This hypermodern opening was popularized by Aron Nimzowitsch, and I feel he would have approved of the doubled c-pawns I inflicted on White after 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bxf6 Bxc3!?+. The inflexible pawn center for White is more of a liability than a strength, as the c-pawns remain a … [Read more...] about A Dream Nimzo-Indian | Standard Chess #296

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+5 game against a player rated 1499 on Chess.com. Facing the popular Caro-Kann Defense (1.e4 c6), I decide to play the Two Knights Variation (2.Nc3 d5 … [Read more...] about Speculative play against the Caro-Kann | Climbing the Rating Ladder vs. ChaoticLama (1499)