When you return to competitive chess after a period of inactivity, you can expect your calculation and mental agility to suffer. Caissa always gets her pound of flesh :) In this video, I play five blitz games (3+0) on Chess.com. 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 … [Read more...] about Paying the Rustiness Price! | Using the Clock as a Weapon #28
John Bartholomew
The Future of Chessable & My Channel!
Exciting news about Chessable, as well as the future direction for my channel. Thank you guys for your support! Read Chessable CEO David Kramaley's blog post about the acquisition: https://www.chessable.com/blog/2019/09/03/chessable-joins-play-magnus-chess24/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=john_announce Check out our Labor Day sale: … [Read more...] about The Future of Chessable & My Channel!
Stonewall Short-Circuited | Standard Chess #287 (Dutch Defense)
The Stonewall Dutch (1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 f5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 d5) is usually characterized by maneuvering and fighting for squares/color complexes. Black's dark-square bishop is the "good" bishop in this setup, so I seek to exchange it with the sequence 8.Bb2, 9.Qc1, and 10.Ba3. Instead of quietly agreeing to this swap, my opponent surprises me with 10...c5. Review this game on … [Read more...] about Stonewall Short-Circuited | Standard Chess #287 (Dutch Defense)
Whose King is Weaker? | Using the Clock as a Weapon #27
When you haven't played blitz in awhile, it's more important than ever to manage your time properly and avoid properly. This session features a game with a promising 18 year-old American Grandmaster, Sam Sevian (FIDE: 2665; Chess.com blitz: 2962) In this video, I play five blitz games (3+0) on Chess.com. My goals in this series are to 1) stay even or ahead of my opponents on … [Read more...] about Whose King is Weaker? | Using the Clock as a Weapon #27
Avoid Autopilot Trades | Climbing the Rating Ladder vs. jrbinga (1643)
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 5+5 game against a player rated 1643 on Chess.com. Against the Nimzo-Indian, my opponent quickly swaps bishop for knight with 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bxf6, which … [Read more...] about Avoid Autopilot Trades | Climbing the Rating Ladder vs. jrbinga (1643)
