John Bartholomew

The Korchnoi Attack (1.d4 f5 2.h3 and 3.g4!?) is a less-than-sound yet dynamic and fun way to confront the Dutch Defense. My attacking setup appears promising after the rook lift 9.Rh4, but might a quick, seemingly poor decision by my opponent a couple moves later lull me into a false sense of security? Review this game on Chess.com: … [Read more...] about Blunder or Trap? | Standard Chess #279 (Korchnoi Attack)

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 two 5+5 games against a player rated 1393 on Chess.com. Game #1: https://www.chess.com/live/game/3639544829ref_id=1761842 Game #2: … [Read more...] about Capitalizing on 3…h6 | Climbing the Rating Ladder vs. nihadb (1393)

Resignation can be a noble way to end a chess game, but in this 2009 US Chess League game against GM Alejandro Ramirez (FIDE: 2546) I was in for a surprise...from a spectator, of all people! [Event "US Chess League"] [Site "Internet Chess Club"] [Date "2009.09.30"] [White "Ramirez, Alejandro"] [Black "Bartholomew, John"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D23"] [WhiteElo "2546"] [BlackElo … [Read more...] about Resigning a Drawn Position vs. a Grandmaster

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! Support the channel: https://streamlabs.com/johnbartholomew Follow … [Read more...] about Profiting from Scandi Traps | Using the Clock as a Weapon #7

In 1921, the Austro-Hungarian (and subsequently Czecohoslovak) hypermodernist Richard Réti published a brilliant study in the German publication Kagans Neueste Schachnachrichten. This study has since become a model of king activity and the strength of multipurpose moves. #Chess #ChessInstruction #RichardReti Read more on Wikipedia: … [Read more...] about Richard Réti’s Remarkable 1921 Study