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+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)

In this 1.d4 game, Black comes blazing out of the gates with a popular reply online, 1...c5. Although I like 2.c3 as a practical option (inviting a transposition to an Exchange Slav after 2...cxd4 3.cxd4 d5), here I play the principled space-grabbing move, 2.d5. My opponent continues their blistering pace, and even sacrifices a piece within the first 10 moves! Against such … [Read more...] about Handling a Speedy, Aggressive player | Standard Chess #295

Samuel Sevian is a 22 year-old American Grandmaster sporting a 2687 FIDE classical rating (world #47). He randomly accepted my 3+0 blitz seek on Chess.com, and I'm happy we got a little match going! My goals in this series are to 1) stay even or ahead of my opponents on the clock, and 2) trust my decision-making. Follow along as I try to avoid perfectionist tendencies and … [Read more...] about Dueling 3000+ rated GM Sam Sevian! | Using the Clock as a Weapon #45