John Bartholomew

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 perfectionist tendencies and apply pressure with the ultimate equalizer in competitive chess: the clock! #Chess #BlitzChess Support the channel: … [Read more...] about Racing the Server Restart | Using the Clock as a Weapon #10

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 1895 on Chess.com. I play the Tarrasch Variation against the French Defense (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2) and attempt to … [Read more...] about Keep Calm and Create Threats | Climbing the Rating Ladder vs. jalapeno7 (1895)

In this video, we explore World Champion Emanuel Lasker's famous double bishop sacrifice, which he played against Johann Bauer in Amsterdam in 1889. The tactic is almost always executed by bishops on adjacent diagonals with Bxh7+ (or ...Bxh2+) to draw out the enemy king, followed by a queen check on h5 (h4), and Bxg7 (...Bxg2) to create a mating net and annihilate the enemy … [Read more...] about The Lasker Double Bishop Sacrifice

The Smith-Morra Gambit (1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3) produces enterprising compensation for White via free-flowing development and open lines. When my opponent gives me a pair of opportunities to land knights on b5 and d5, I don't hesitate. #Chess #ChessInstruction Review this game on Chess.com: https://www.chess.com/live/game/3661033216?ref_id=1761842 Support the channel: … [Read more...] about Drop The Hammer | Standard Chess #280 (Smith-Morra Gambit)

Playing a bullet session where I track my results across 10 games, ala the "Using the Clock as a Weapon" series. I discuss a useful trick in time scrambles, which I'm going to go ahead and name the "jump cut!" #Chess #BulletChess Support the channel: https://streamlabs.com/johnbartholomew Follow me on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/johnbartholomew Follow me on Twitter: … [Read more...] about The “Jump Cut” Trick | Bullet Chess #293