John Bartholomew

Two ex-World Champions square off in a classic battle of styles. Vasily Smyslov, a careful positional player and endgame specialist, opens in his usual unhurried fashion but fails to obtain any advantage. Mikhail Tal, known for his tactical ability and brilliant handling of the initiative, seizes the center and launches one of his characteristic attacks. However, this game is … [Read more...] about In the Opponent’s Style | Vasily Smyslov vs. Mikhail Tal, 1964 USSR Team Championship

A former student of mine, Håvard, challenged me to a dual commentary match, and we agreed to play a pair of 15+10 games on Chess.com. In this first game, a rather passive anti-Sicilian line from Håvard leads to a pleasant middlegame game for me with the pair of bishops. Håvard's version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrJwlLcEc1k Follow me on Twitch: … [Read more...] about Standard Chess #269: Game 1 vs. Håvard (Sicilian Defense)

A former student of mine, Håvard, challenged me to a dual commentary match, and we agreed to play a pair of 15+10 games on Chess.com. In this second game, Håvard blunders in the opening, but I suffer a slight mishap myself in the middlegame. Håvard's version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QjrzmGz_n8 Follow me on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/johnbartholomew Follow me on … [Read more...] about Standard Chess #270: Game 2 vs. Håvard (Bogo-Indian Defense)

Bobby Fischer's most famous games often showcase his brilliant calculation and superb feel for the initiative, but did you know that he possessed fantastic technique? In this 1962 U.S. Championship encounter against Sammy Reshevsky, Fischer demonstrates sterling play against Black's multiple weaknesses. Review this game: … [Read more...] about Fischer’s Underrated Technique | Bobby Fischer vs. Samuel Reshevsky, 1962 U.S. Championship

RIP GM Evgeni Vasiukov: https://www.chess.com/news/view/evgeni-vasiukov-1933-2018 My 2015 blitz game against GM Vasiukov when he was 82(!) years old: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P18vBxLBT1Q Review this game (vs. babadraga92) on Chess.com: https://www.chess.com/live/game/2802442801 Follow me on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/johnbartholomew Follow me on Twitter: … [Read more...] about Blitz Chess #497: IM Bartholomew vs. babadroga92 (Torre Attack)