thanks for the "rule of consideration" regarding turning points in the game. that was very helpful to point out. i liked the daring and tactical bonfire you put yourself into to push calculation skills and general mayhem. there is so much i find brilliant in every aspect of chess, yet the tactical - calculation skills are most exciting facet to me, not least for me having "flamed out" and losing spectacularly often enough. Rashid Nezhmetdinov is my very favorite player and was mind blowing this way. thanks so much for a well played, fun game.... with engaging on live game commentary and rigorous post-game analysis.!
+John Bartholomew if this is of interest to you..... and i begin to notice you have a crazy busy schedule....jessica fischer does a great documentary on Nezhmetdinov. cheers!
I'm starting to go through Esserman's Mayhem in the Morra. Lots of interesting ideas in there. In the accepted lines, it seems like White really has to be alert in the opening to play the correct lines, or Black can just equalize--but if White does play correctly, the resulting positions are really tough for Black to handle. Plus, you have to love the book's subtitle haha--Sicilian Refuted! Maybe next time your opponent will take and we can see another Morra game. I know you have one or two earlier on the channel as well. Thanks for continuing to mix up the openings!
+WeLearnChess Esserman's "Mayhem in the Morra" is a fantastic book - agreed. Highly recommended to anyone out there looking to learn the Smith-Morra Gambit.
Exciting game! I like how you handle the computer, trying to calculate before looking at its recommended moves and so on. This game may have been decided if black perhaps thought "with a move like Bg6, he probably looked at fxg6 and calculated it" :)
Nice game. May I sugest that you posted the PGN moves in the commentary of the games. Sometimes I would love to take them into Fritz and look at some kines my self :-)
+Klondike xx Thanks, Klondike xx! I've resisted putting the PGNs in the descriptions (or comments) because I still play over-the-board tournaments actively and I don't want prospective opponents to be able to grab games easily from my channel. I may change my mind at some point, but this is my current stance.
+Mathew Cornelius Hey, Matthew - I've definitely thought about it! I've been approached by some well-known chess publishers, but it's a huge undertaking and honestly I think it makes far more sense to self-publish. If I did write something it would most likely be a non-opening book since I'm doing a lot of work on openings with Chessable :)
Hey John. Love your videos! Quick question though, do you ever think that commentating while playing slows you down? Perhaps that's why you always find yourself down on time? Food for thought!
+Gr93 Hey, Gr93! Absolutely - commenting slows me down a fair amount. Ironically, this is true more so at the longer time controls :) In 1-minute I allow myself to speak stream-of-conscious style, but in longer games I have a hard time shortening my comments.
+John Bartholomew Definitely, thanks for replying. On another note, do you have any recommendations for beginners for playing at a 900ish rating level? Could you give some specific learning material that we could use to improve?
+Gr93 At that level, the vast majority of your chess time should be spent on playing serious games (I'd say 15 minutes per side or longer) and analyzing them afterwards both on your own and with an engine. That's better for your game than any books/materials you could study right now!
+John Bartholomew +John Bartholomew Awesome. What engine would you recommend for analyzing and is there a specific way you go about doing it? And when should I move onto books and other learning mediums? Thanks again!
+Gr93 I would import your games to lichess and use their free analysis engine. You can also download Stockfish, though you'll need a GUI to use it. You can start dabbling in books now if you like (just don't worry about going overboard). I'd recommend "Tune Your Chess Tactics Antenna", "Attack with Mikhail Tal", and "Amateur to IM". Good luck!
+ledzeppeman Thanks, lezeppeman! Probably your best bet to play me is to join a lichess tourney if you're OK with playing bullet. I also play viewers on my occasional streams (although I gotta stream more!).
I know you say you're slow but I've watched almost all the standard videos and you always take the time on important decisions... why does your opponent always seem to play so fast when they are decently rated ? Why not take the extra time they are up to keep from getting a bad position which happens almost every time.
thanks for the "rule of consideration" regarding turning points in the game. that was very helpful to point out. i liked the daring and tactical bonfire you put yourself into to push calculation skills and general mayhem. there is so much i find brilliant in every aspect of chess, yet the tactical - calculation skills are most exciting facet to me, not least for me having "flamed out" and losing spectacularly often enough. Rashid Nezhmetdinov is my very favorite player and was mind blowing this way. thanks so much for a well played, fun game.... with engaging on live game commentary and rigorous post-game analysis.!
+gratitude62 Yes, Nezhmetdinov played some mind-bending games! A shame he was never awarded the Grandmaster title.
+John Bartholomew if this is of interest to you..... and i begin to notice you have a crazy busy schedule....jessica fischer does a great documentary on Nezhmetdinov. cheers!
+gratitude62 Good to know - thanks!!
I'm starting to go through Esserman's Mayhem in the Morra. Lots of interesting ideas in there. In the accepted lines, it seems like White really has to be alert in the opening to play the correct lines, or Black can just equalize--but if White does play correctly, the resulting positions are really tough for Black to handle. Plus, you have to love the book's subtitle haha--Sicilian Refuted! Maybe next time your opponent will take and we can see another Morra game. I know you have one or two earlier on the channel as well. Thanks for continuing to mix up the openings!
+WeLearnChess Esserman's "Mayhem in the Morra" is a fantastic book - agreed. Highly recommended to anyone out there looking to learn the Smith-Morra Gambit.
good to see some 1.e4 action! thanks, John!
+J Young Thanks, J Young!
Thanks for the advice on recognizing key moments in the game.
+Jason Trivium Sure thing, Jason.
Exciting game! I like how you handle the computer, trying to calculate before looking at its recommended moves and so on. This game may have been decided if black perhaps thought "with a move like Bg6, he probably looked at fxg6 and calculated it" :)
+Draculafamily Thanks for the positive feedback, Draculafamily!
Nice game. May I sugest that you posted the PGN moves in the commentary of the games. Sometimes I would love to take them into Fritz and look at some kines my self :-)
+Klondike xx Thanks, Klondike xx! I've resisted putting the PGNs in the descriptions (or comments) because I still play over-the-board tournaments actively and I don't want prospective opponents to be able to grab games easily from my channel. I may change my mind at some point, but this is my current stance.
"so playeth the raven" AHAHAH
nevermore
I like your moves 9.Ng5 and 18.Bg6. Moves like that make for more entertaining videos! :)
+Andrew Isbell Thanks, Andrew!
I'm loving it! :) Sometimes you got to hustle a little!
+Steinar Lima Thanks, Steinar! :D
Exciting stuff!
Great game. I especially liked the part about recognizing critical moments.
+nathenandrew Glad you enjoyed the video, nathenandrew.
Could you try Larsen's opening in one of your standard games at some point?
+Max Dunn Sure!
tienes el pgn?
What are the numbers next to the names on the ICC platform (38) / (39)?
Maybe I should have waited to ask that 😑... Looks like it's the material count.
+Dane Wyrick Correct!
Have you thought about writing a chess book John? Maybe on the Scandi?
+Mathew Cornelius Hey, Matthew - I've definitely thought about it! I've been approached by some well-known chess publishers, but it's a huge undertaking and honestly I think it makes far more sense to self-publish. If I did write something it would most likely be a non-opening book since I'm doing a lot of work on openings with Chessable :)
I feel like icc is good for bullet but lacking in strength for 15min, would love to see you play on chess.com for standard
+Vergtio Thanks for the suggestion! I've been meaning to do this, so I'll make a point to look for some 15-minute games on Chess.com :)
At 28:10 you say that the move 9. Nc3 gambits another pawn. Is that because of 9... Nxc3 10. bxc3 Qxc3? Just checking if I saw that correctly. :)
+Emiel H Correct.
11. Qh5 threatens Nxe6! which I think you missed in your post analysis
Insane, love it! :)
+gillywibble Glad you enjoyed it, gillywibble!
at 12:00 why isn't f6 working for black?
+White Ex Bg6+
+White Ex As Ted Trippi noted, 15...f6 16.Bg6+ is devastating.
Hey John. Love your videos! Quick question though, do you ever think that commentating while playing slows you down? Perhaps that's why you always find yourself down on time? Food for thought!
+Gr93 Hey, Gr93! Absolutely - commenting slows me down a fair amount. Ironically, this is true more so at the longer time controls :) In 1-minute I allow myself to speak stream-of-conscious style, but in longer games I have a hard time shortening my comments.
+John Bartholomew Definitely, thanks for replying. On another note, do you have any recommendations for beginners for playing at a 900ish rating level? Could you give some specific learning material that we could use to improve?
+Gr93 At that level, the vast majority of your chess time should be spent on playing serious games (I'd say 15 minutes per side or longer) and analyzing them afterwards both on your own and with an engine. That's better for your game than any books/materials you could study right now!
+John Bartholomew +John Bartholomew Awesome. What engine would you recommend for analyzing and is there a specific way you go about doing it? And when should I move onto books and other learning mediums? Thanks again!
+Gr93 I would import your games to lichess and use their free analysis engine. You can also download Stockfish, though you'll need a GUI to use it.
You can start dabbling in books now if you like (just don't worry about going overboard). I'd recommend "Tune Your Chess Tactics Antenna", "Attack with Mikhail Tal", and "Amateur to IM".
Good luck!
Buen trabajo ya me suscribi
18. Bg6 was the killing move :p
+Mauro Hehe - in a practical sense, yes :)
Nice game!!! when i grow up, i want to calculate stuff like 15. Qf4 Bxg2 16. f3 Bxf1 17. Bc7
+Fabrice Leal That was a crazy engine line indeed :)
That was wild! ;O)
Yep!The winning blunder brilliancy??!!!..lol.At the end the biggest blunder always is to not punish the blunder.Aaaaah nuts!
Great video! Wish I could get you to play a game against me.
+ledzeppeman Thanks, lezeppeman! Probably your best bet to play me is to join a lichess tourney if you're OK with playing bullet. I also play viewers on my occasional streams (although I gotta stream more!).
I know you say you're slow but I've watched almost all the standard videos and you always take the time on important decisions... why does your opponent always seem to play so fast when they are decently rated ? Why not take the extra time they are up to keep from getting a bad position which happens almost every time.
This game is nothing for my sleepy eyes.
+Aschenkopf Yes, don't look at the 18th move if you're drowsy :)
First comment = biggest fan