Climbing the Rating Ladder: 1000-1200

This is a series where I play lower-rated players and comment on optimal chess strategy both broadly and specifically to the rating level in question. Here we rise another rung and tackle players in the 1000-1200 rating range on Chess.com.
Part 1 (Up to 1000): • Climbing the Rating La...
Links to games:
Game 1 vs. thunderryan: www.chess.com/l...
Game 2 vs. tonygual: www.chess.com/l...
Game 3 vs. aqa57: www.chess.com/l...
Game 4 vs. lenard_austin: www.chess.com/l...
Game 5 vs. geox: www.chess.com/l...
Game 6 vs. Phenix888: www.chess.com/l...
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[@jbram63]

No matter how many blunders I make in a day, I rest easy knowing that I can always come back to these videos and be on the winning side.

[@vichardy3504]

Totally agree. As a beginner, I'm really working on taking the extra time to scan and not just playing what looks like a great move, and when I do that I win more. Obvious but he's correct. And I agree that this is probably the best course available; I also watch it over and over.

[@piercecooke9649]

@@vichardy3504 What annoys me about these videos is i'm rated 1300, so only a little higher, and I go back through my games and people never made blunders. Then you watch youtube and he just takes advantage of mistakes. But in the games im playing there are none :'( Either way I'm just a bad player, but sometimes these videos have such obvious mistakes and I'm just so mad that these aren't my opponents

[@ansarb3650]

@@piercecooke9649 my theory is that top players like John play moves which make it easy for the opponent to blunder. Like at 33:52, his plan makes his opponent blunder the queen. At my level (~900), this isn't something I would've thought of and thus the opponent would've never even had the opportunity to blunder his queen. So while John makes it look easy, I think it's because of his prophylactic and tactical senses (+experience) that the opponents seemingly keep getting punished!

[@nklristic]

@@piercecooke9649 It makes sense. People will mostly make mistakes when they feel uncomfortable in a certain position. The exception is when you are a complete beginner and you make blunders every game. A strong titled player will just have an active position against lower rated people and will play better moves than 1 300 rated player. There are exceptions, but that is the essence.

[@Brian_J_Dickson]

Funny but true 😂

[@songswithcam669]

l appreciate how you play beginners without being condescending, and your explanations add so much clarity to the game. Thank you

[@TheSkatersk8terskate]

agreed, GothamChess has a similar series and I find it hard to watch as he has a bit of an arrogant attitude when stomping newbies.

[@darrylkassle361]

If he were to be condescending like say Hikaru Narcissistic Hilary he would be a HYPOCRITE because all strong chess players were once had that level. Hey but that does not stop some of them. I watched a Hilary vid once where he expressed disdain that people commenting considered 2300 ish representative of a strong player.

[@darrylkassle361]

Yes but his not being condescending it's done in the spirit of good humour like you dunce why you move there I know you are 600 elo but c'mon what were you thinking!!! I would say that NARCISSIST Hilary is truly arrogant and condescending

[@joseviu969]

@@darrylkassle361 hikaru is a child with a big brain. i bet we was the bullie´s favorite meal at school and now hes fragilized ego still craves for revenge.

[@darrylkassle361]

@@joseviu969 I never really was bullied at school but I had 'incidents' I was right into martial arts and my best friend happened to be the toughest kid or rather one of the toughest kids in his year level. However saying that I hate bullies. I don't like seeing another human unfairly physically attack another.

[@DaveLH]

My primary reason for blundering is I sometimes exhibit "Diagonal Blindness" -- i.e. I don't sufficiently scan the board for threats along diagonals, especially when I'm in time trouble.

[@mftripz8445]

Mine is sometimes i like to throw a dude at a random spot and see if i can wriggle my way out

[@chaseconnor1959]

Yeah our brains are wired to think linearly. I especially suffer from this “Diagonal Blindness.” Our brains prefer the vertical and horizontal planes. It’s especially difficult to train your brain to see these types of moves. I’ve been playing 15/10 games after watching John’s tutorials and it’s helped make me more cognizant of these types of moves and also to not blunder myself by the same types of moves. 10/10 will watch again.

[@mftripz8445]

Chase Connor ? Nah fam i can see diagonally perfectly fine, you just need to consider diagonals in your planning

[@mftripz8445]

Chase Connor and play slower games until you develop full understanding

[@aiGeis]

@@chaseconnor1959 That's a quite specious assertion about human brains preferring 90 degree angles as opposed to 45.

[@SaucyBat]

I just can't fucking believe how articulate you are. Whereas most teachers can only teach to certain levels, you're able to cater your lessons to all different walks of players. You're awesome! Are there any more fundamentals videos you're thinking of making? Or were those the main ones? Those helped me out so damn much. Thanks JB

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+SaucyBat Thanks, SaucyBat! I very much appreciate the positive feedback :) My plan is to climb the rating ladder on a couple other sites, too (probably lichess next). Glad these videos are helping you.

[@waveexistence5742]

What do you think? Climb the ladder on lichess next? A lot of people are saying the lichess crowd is too much for you John. I don't believe it, I think you can do it. You just have to believe in yourself.

[@MusicPlaylistsChannel]

@@JohnBartholomewChess HI! What's the best move if at 1:05:41 he takes with the pawn in stead of knight? Thanks!

[@jamieoliver9620]

@@MusicPlaylistsChannel lol this is from 5 years ago dude😂

[@mullarky]

best chess series on youtube i've found. thanks

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Awesome to hear. Cheers, Bill.

[@jakobzohmann6468]

could watch 100s of those videos, great commentary

[@ben-fe3zy]

I agree

[@redmudkip]

1 hour of fins time, perfect Saturday night : ] I should probably make some friends.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+red mudkip "You're never alone when you're watching a Fins video!" - Abraham Lincoln

[@salvadorguerrero8654]

Darren R This month I started to make chess the only thing I do on free time and I've improved a lot

[@alexandersamuel5638]

thats good!

[@ophiolatreia93]

Darren R are your friends this interesting?

[@fbiguy6096]

Have you gotten any friends yet?

[@leerobbo92]

I love the confidence of playing the king's gambit against an IM! So helpful again, you make chess look so simple.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+leerobbo92 Thanks, leerobbo92 :)

[@meu02136]

+leerobbo92 I know right? Then I go into a game and see an opening I've never seen before and I'm down a piece quickly.

[@patrickoliver4692]

G'day John. thanks for doing these and releasing no: 2 so quick! You have an amazing talent to teach and share your knowledge. Thanks again, totally appreciated.

[@marufsarkar2960]

+Patrick Oliver Yes John Is Great !!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+Patrick Oliver Thanks for the support, Patrick! As always, thanks for watching :)

[@BigHynsie]

Patrick

[@jonathanscherpenbach9913]

It's impressive how you see see the checkmate in 1 immediately while I have to think about it for a second even after you pointed it out.

[@ashscott6068]

Pfffft. I have to stare at the board for a minute just to avoid a stalemate, when I have 3 queens on the board.

[@siLence-84]

@@ashscott6068 One of us! One of us! Hahaha

[@siLence-84]

If my comment started with "it's impressive how you..." it would take me as long to write the comment as the video is.

[@xamnition]

@@ashscott6068 why the fuck would you make 3 queens? You are asking to be stalemated

[@bjtheamazing6550]

XamN late reply but sometimes when I’m up so much material I troll and make lots of rooks or queens.

[@adrianwisa6084]

I'm amazed at how much control you have at these levels. I am at 500-something rating playing my level and struggle to get anything going. You just calmly sail through the game and break down opponents' moves.

[@bunkbeds3001]

JB, it's been 4 years since you started this series, but I cannot thank you enough for showing such respect and dedication to taking these low level games seriously. I was the guy who thought he was a chess god because he always beat his friends...then online play smacked me back into reality. I was unconsciously using SOME basic strategies and openings (I was a big fan of using the Karo Kan without even knowing what it was), but it's all surface level. You've given me such practical, simple, yet detailed information that I can see myself improving even in the games that I end up losing. From the bottom of my heart, my friend, thank you so much for these videos. I love your content!

[@TheBlackSheepDiaries]

Seems that we are walking the same path my friend, this is me now! I just watched this video again yesterday and something clicked finally. I've been watching videos constantly, trying to get past the 1000 point but with continued frustration as I just seem to get more mixed up, and go with my usual crazy openings that have only been good sometimes (Karo Kan was a main one). Blundering a piece was really no big deal to me as long as I hadn't lost my queen. This one got me focused on a normal opening, being much more careful about blundering, and understanding that once ahead material, go ahead and exchange queens and get to the endgame. 6 wins in a row last night and I'm at my all time high of 1042. So glad I found this gem and can't wait to learn more here. Wondering how your game is coming along? Good luck out there!

[@aaronbaldwin4900]

Just found this series. 8 Years old and still great

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Love it. Thanks dude!

[@jeffgillson]

Very educational, but kind of feels like teaching MMA by beating up kids at the playground.

[@penta4568]

Jay Crew lol I get the same feeling! John: & in this move you can calmly sweep their leg, tripping them up, they have bad stability at this level, once they are on the ground, simplify the position by putting your boot on their neck. & in this position they resign the game 😭😭😭

[@callmeqt1269]

There are many arguments that can be made to nullify your opinion. I certainly see what you're saying, but I don't exactly track.

[@penta4568]

call me qt you sound like the life of the party

[@callmeqt1269]

Pent A I’m going to disregard your sarcasm, and tell you truthfully “Yes, I am.”

[@penta4568]

call me qt I’m gonna disregard your sarcasm too lol sure you are

[@TheCooperify]

I've always looked at this series you've made and ignored it, I thought it was just you having fun with lower players or climbing the rating with a new account, but it is very instructive and I am learning a lot, perhaps the tittle isn't the best or you should had something like very educational in it :) just a tip

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+I Hazecx Good point - I may want to tweak the title a bit. Glad you're learning from these videos, I Hazecx :)

[@TheCooperify]

+John Bartholomew Nice to see you read the comments and consider them, keep up the good work man!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+I Hazecx Thanks - will do!

[@jamesjk1234]

I Hazecx yeah, I actually came to see him playing as a 1000 ranked account because I thought it’d be the most accurate way. Great video, though. I’m climbing the ladder myself!

[@robertlee3416]

32 days in and at 960 from 600. Yours vids have been a big part of that, thank you.

[@johnmichael642]

I've watched a lot of great chess on KZbin but for my level I think that you have been the best and most instructive so far! that's because the way you carefully and calmly walk through the logic of each move makes me realize that play of this level is totally possible for me. I just need to stay calm, and think through each move and not think that I have to crush my opponent with one single move or that they have a much more developed plan than me. I don't have to play brilliant, just slightly better than my opponent each move. I have a 1900 tactics rating, but only 1100 in quick chess bc I win a few, lose a few

[@rulamagic]

Useful timestamps: 16:15 Trap against the King's Gambit 28:18 Move against Ruy Lopez taking the pawn on e5 35:50 tactic against queen taking pawn on e5 1:02:31 Game 6 Fried Liver Attack- Two Knights vs Giuoco Piano

[@happy_labs]

You're a great teacher!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+jacklikesjuggling :D Thanks!

[@sehrtoericht3904]

Yes he is

[@MrAstillu]

John You are the best You are amazing !!! My rating improved only because of You

[@benbusche]

Hi John, I don’t know if you will see this comment from such an old video, but after revisiting your foundations series and early climbing the rating ladder series, I can’t help but think there might be such thing as “Rating Inflation”. the level of play from 1000-1300 are pretty poor according to the early videos, with a lot of big early mistakes, blunders, coordination issues, etc. at my rating range of ~800-1,000 i encounter what I would consider very solid strong play, with perfect openings and solid development and strong initiatives, it’s rare that i get to take advantage of undefended pieces early in my games, and it seems like 100% of your videos your opponents make huge mistakes early on, is that just luck? or did 1300 rating used to suck?

[@gdr6975]

I definitely agree! Since this video was made (8 years ago), chess players have gotten increasingly better through popularization of chess through streamers and KZbinrs like Gotham, Hikaru, Andrea, Dina, Anna, Daniel, and of course John and his awesome chess series. The Netflix show Queen’s Gambit also has helped put chess in the mainstream. So I think chess is much more accessible today than it was when this video was made. It’s much easier now to find helpful videos and get better at chess. 1000 rated player back then will probably easily lose to an 800 rated player now. Of course my opinions are just anecdotal haha 😅

[@alexandersmith3687]

Such a great video! It's like poetry in motion watching you analyse and breakdown your opponents (and so respectfully too). Really great stuff, thank you for making

[@blahtoausername]

I can't believe I'm still playing at this level.....

[@muhammadsalikin3886]

blahtoausername me too

[@EIIlast2791]

What level are you playing at now?

[@blahtoausername]

@@EIIlast2791 well, I'm above 1200 now playing 15+10 on chess.com. on lichess I'm 1500 at 10 min blitz. Still miss tactics despite reaching 1700 in puzzle ratings.

[@EIIlast2791]

blahtoausername ahhh so still progressing

[@blahtoausername]

@@EIIlast2791 very much so. Sometimes feels like baby steps, other times I surprise myself!

[@BenHasAPlan]

Two things: 1. You made a great pun by accident and didn't notice: "you should slightly prefer bishops over knights... just a minor thing." Lol 2. It wasn't an early a3 that occurred in the previous video, but two people having played an early ...h6. :)

[@amphibian87]

how is this a pun?

[@slimpwarrior]

minor piece/thing is a pun

[@DanielMoss]

cute

[@ophiolatreia93]

BenHasAPlan its a silly pun!

[@Jealod24]

He was referring to another player in the under 1000 vid playing a3... which happened

[@ChessUSee]

Thanks John! This series was the most helpful that I've ever found and was the #1 key to my exceeding 1000 rating. I make climbing the rating ladder videos for those under 500 rating on my channel and any support would be awesome!

[@tabootenente]

I agree: these videos are great! I wish you'd taken more time as you're going up through the ranks: a longer video per rank bracket, or a few videos. I find these games very instructive, and seeing patterns emerge at the different levels--and especially how you respond--is extremely useful. How to punish opponents' mistakes, I think, is one of the best ways to increase our own levels.Thanks again for these great videos.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+tabootenente Thanks - glad you find this series useful! I'll be making more "Climbing the Rating Ladder" videos going forward where I'll revisit the respective rating levels. Stay tuned.

[@ophiolatreia93]

John Bartholemew - I just want to say thanks! I've been watching your videos and in a few weeks jumped from 700 to almost 1100 and climbing. Once I cut out the blunders and played good solid chess as you stress I started winning much more... You should do an episode on keeping the emotions cool... It's important to respond calmly. When I'm in a crap mood I play terribly and it creates tons of negative emotions. When I get like that I watch your vids and I'm calm and enthusiastic again! So thank you!!

[@Vqrdict]

What is your rating now?

[@Siderite]

I was talking to a friend just a week ago, badmouthing John for saying he is going to do something special, but instead he just posted less standard games. And then he comes up with this great series! I stand corrected.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+Siderite Zackwehdex Heh :) Doing my best.

[@wildroot2762]

This is the best channel in the world. John tells you a reason for all moves. Invaluable!

[@unoriginalusernameno999]

1 hour well spent! Awesome video you managed to keep me entertained till the end! Definetely helped me improve my game :D

[@ErlingGrey]

The difference in knowledge I gain from your videos vs Ben finegold is infinite.

[@madhavsanap6690]

Who is better. John or Ben ?

[@fabian2111]

@@madhavsanap6690 john

[@buyastyle]

​@@fabian2111 +1 Ben is funny but with so many words per second I find John way clear and better for my beginner level. I can watch three 1+ hour videos from John without getting tired but can't finish one from Ben.

[@whatever-uw5bx]

I got my IM title last month and before every tournament I play i watch all videos 1000-2000. Got $5000 last tournament for 3rd! When you first made these vids I was stuck at 1700 lacking tactics but really good at getting people in time pressure at 3+0.

[@Shaewaros]

Geox played an excellent game - didn't fall to the G2 chessmate that I personally didn't spot.

[@juanrocha4333]

G'day John. thanks for doing these and releasing no: 2 so quick! You have an amazing talent to teach and share your knowledge. Thanks again, totally appreciated.

[@meta4101]

Thanks, John! Your perspective of the board/continuations/psychology is very helpful.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+meta41 Thanks for watching, meta41!

[@chesscod3876]

Thanks for another fun and unique series John. I enjoy the longer videos and you have been amazingly successful at making games that end in sudden blunders still interesting and instructive. As for those early rook pawn advances you discourage, that fried liver at the end isn't going to help your case haha. For what it's worth I recall playing an early h3/h6 a lot when I was lower on *the chess ladder* and it was because the only offensive tactics I knew to go for (besides late game heavy piece batteries) were to pin a classically developed knight or land a knight fork on the 2nd/7th. I assumed it was similar for my opponents and took steps to prevent them doing it to me. Furthermore, when games almost always end via a piece blunder, doing something that can't blunder a piece (even at the cost of a poorer strategic position) can lead to some success. I remember hating the uncertainty of not knowing what to do after reaching a fully developed solid classical position, which made me go for tactical shots early instead. Fortunately after reading an article called "pushing pawns for piece play" I figured out how to proceed. Can't wait for the series to catch up to that and eventually to me :D

[@orthoschnapp5565]

Could somebody explain why in a gambit you shouldn’t take two pawns offered but just the first?

[@K0bbii]

Less pawns scary bishops

[@BoyWonderbk]

The fried liver is awesome.

[@a.j.mcmahon6671]

Hi John! Thank you for your video series. It helps me alot! I'm a 1075 player on lichess.org :) andylove7777 is my username. If you have time, maybe it's good to go through the rating systems again because there's probably lots more hints and tips you could give out :)

[@fakecubed]

I love Ruy Lopez so much. I'm really glad that player got to show the Exchange Variation so you could show off the Qd4 move. That was one of the first openers I really studied and it's one of my favorite lines.

[@amirPenton]

At 33:20, I was looking at Nd5. Is there something wrong with this, or were you just looking to complete development with Nc6? I've found these videos very helpful, I've brought up my rating 100+ points in the past few months, so thank you so much!

[@skepticmoderate5790]

You've got problems with your AV my friend. Great videos regardless!

[@DragonSlayer334]

These videos are almost nostalgic to me at this point lol learned so much from them back in the day

[@omg_wtf]

Just started and these are still invaluable in 2022. I'm sure I will also look back in a few years!

[@MrMellek]

Very helpful man. Just beginning with 30 min games. But i overthink way to much i believe because i always seem to be the one with less time. Great commentary

[@LesterBrunt]

I watched your vids and was inspired to do a game very classical just thinking about positions and not doing crazy moves and I was so winning, 2 rooks on the 6th rank taking away all his pawns and then I blundered not seeing backrow mate in 1.

[@davidkalekoable]

Really, really love these videos. My favorite series of yours by far. I'm ~1600-1700 so I'm really looking forward to the higher level versions of these. I would have killed to have these videos when I was the appropriate rating range! Also duplicate videos (of the same rating ranges) would be great too; the more material the better!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+davidkalekoable Great to know. I'll be approaching your rating level soon, so stay tuned!

[@XSFlanger]

I'm complete beginner and I tend to run out of time even on 45 min matches :/ It takes me like 5 minutes to think about each move, after 3-4 opening moves.

[@Claude-Vanlalhruaia]

Its a good thing you take so much time. This will greatly improve your understanding and improve your game quality as well as rating further down the road. But, there can also be a case in which you might simply waste time in a situation where it could've been a simple decision if you got the right knowledge. So, like John said learn opening one by one a long with game of GM and analyse then preferably with someone who is much more stronger and experience than yourself. You can use computer but knowing the best moves without understanding why its the best move doesn't really help out a lot.

[@careerbreakoff]

I'm sort of new as well. Playing the computer on easy levels is quite useful, doesn't affect your ratings, you can undo moves and take as long as u want

[@ykge8877]

Flanger , hi, hope you are still playing chess nowadays and you are better now. :-) I had the same problem when I started - there are just too many possibilities on the board! What I did was to learn and play some basic endgames - as Capablanca pointed out, this is where you get to understand the true power of the pieces. Then, I learn some tactics, starting from the most fundamentals like counting and battery, and then fork (with N and P) and skew (with R or B). Then learn and stick to an familiar opening, simpler the better - I suggest Colle for white - just need 30 seconds for the first 10 moves. :-) Hope this helps you!

[@ophiolatreia93]

Flanger surely that's a good thing.. Impulsive moves tend not to be that good..

[@SuperYtc1]

From like 5 mins in the video. Wondering what your thoughts are on white's nh4 threat, winning your light-squared bishop and messing up your pawn structure? I kept thinking h6 would be a good move, to give the light bishop a flight square, while also posing a question to white's dark-squared bishop. Why weren't you concerned about nh4?

[@bluepenguin2071]

Some other chess masters I know don’t play or explain well with fundamentals, but I deeply appreciate your analysis and balance of solid/trying play

[@renpnal229]

At 4:17 I see this line: Bxe4 Nxe4 Qa5+ If white blocks with the knight, Qxg5 and black gained a pawn. If king moves, black can take the knight. If the bishop blocks, black pins the knight with Qe5 and the knight will be lost. If the queen blocks then knight is pinned again and lost. If either c3 or b4, the knight is pinned again and lost. However if the knight doesn't take the bishop and Qe2 pinning the bishop, Qe7 breaks the pin and adequately defend the bishop. Thus, I think that Bxe4 was good line.

[@89Ssik]

35:42 "That trap with Knight takes D5, Knight Takes D5, Queen takes D5 Bishop E4 check is still there. So I'm going to give him one more opportunity for him to fall into it....." Right after he finished his speaking SNAP! XD

[@purplesun3792]

Your videos helped me get to 2000 thx john

[@ARRRRRRRRFUL]

Thanks for making this. I've been stuck at this level for a while and I hate it :(

[@Enderman-en3dv]

That 9 move game is literally the exact same game that I played (as black) in my first tournament ever. Same exact moves and everything.

[@andrewmilner-white9988]

fantastic series! Thanks so much for posting these. Now what about finishing the Play Magnus series too :)

[@joehorvath]

Found this video to be extremely helpful, especially the end where you go into explaining the fried liver. Is there any chance you can make more videos that explore opening lines and variations as eloquently as you have here?

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+Joey Horvath Thanks, Joey! I don't have any opening videos in the pipeline right now, but I bet I'll make some of them down the line. I appreciate your feedback!

[@wolfbear]

Wonderful video--incredibly informative and helpful! You give great explanations as to why you're doing what you're doing as well as great analysis of the opponents moves. Very constructive and insightful. Looking forward to watching the rest.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+Alex Wigley Thanks, Alex! Enjoy as you climb the ladder :)

[@RAPIDFIREcsgo]

Mr. John, may I ask where you know the Macedonian flag from? I mean, the country is not necessarily well known and quite small to be frank. It caught me off-guard that you actually knew the flag from the country where I live in.

[@liqritrs8391]

He’s an international master in chess... the dudes smart, he knows basic geography like countries flags

[@josiahmhoward]

1:04:00 fried liver attack explanation to which I desire a bookmark.

[@AterNyctos]

50:25 rook captures on d2 :D don't know if it's the best move but the possible variations are quite cool

[@samsmusichub]

This series is going to be incredibly valuable. I love seeing others fail jk! But learning from other's mistakes is definitely less personally costly! This guy's a savage!

[@samoconnor4814]

Rook d2 at 59:08 instead of queen g6? Knight was pinned

[@dexterpagnini1145]

Yes. I've wondered why this move hasn't been discussed more often here. It seems to me (and I'm probably overlooking something obvious that would make it a bad move) that John's black rook at d8 X d2 wins the bishop (White's knight is pinned by the mating threat; it appears the lines of play that follow all favor black winning at least a piece). What am I missing? Thanks John for the "Climbing the Ratings Ladder" series of KZbin vids! IMO, It's the best series on chess freely available, thanks to you taking the time to create these instructional jewels.

[@liqritrs8391]

I move so fast. Maybe 5 seconds max per move. Big oof. These are great vids g

[@anttt7993]

Pro Tip: Put the speed of the video on 75% or 80%. Almost brings his thought processes to human levels.

[@kasurusak5168]

wish i could see this video earlier. its definetly improve my game and rating as well thank you john!!! you are one of the best chess mentor in the world. i hope u can get enough compensation sacrificing your time for us. thank you!!!

[@siLence-84]

Your "softball" questions make me rack my brain. Triple digit rated for life *sigh*

[@jaketheboss9092]

Watch his chess fundamentals vid. These climbing ladder one is good but you only really understand the concepts after you see that 5 part series.

[@samlsmithmusic]

Your play and instruction is so clean and organized, so easy to follow. I really appreciate your ability to improvise your speech like this in such a clear way that stays engaging and friendly. Really superb job here.

[@kg_1720]

That Fried Liver Attack though 🤩

[@samarpanthorat]

Thank you for this series sir. God bless you.

[@jonathanlupisan]

I was glad to see the fried liver. That's one of my favorite openings. I kept thinking "c'mon fried liver, hit him with the fried liver"

[@andyprentice]

Thank you so much for this. As a current 1200~ player on chess.com I found this extremely helpful. I think I am going to review the fundamental series.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+Andy Prentice Best of luck as you climb the ladder, Andy!

[@richwaight]

Super informative commentary! Thanks so much :D

[@Darncoolcreeper]

50:42 would Rxd2 be a good move here to force some trading while being up a pawn?

[@xanbex8324]

Good stuff thank you...like your teaching style.

[@vincemartinelli9689]

This stuff is LITERALLY priceless John!! Now this is a "real" question, I'm not being facetious or sarcastic, lol. Do you really think that it's possible for someone to make it to the 1800-2000 rating range by ONLY eliminating game changing blunders and using sensible openings (Scotch/Sicilian) and following sound opening principals? Talk about hope for the "wayward masses" lol.

[@josephvictory9536]

+Vince Marinelli Hmm a good question. I second it. Probably not 1800, id guess more like 1600. According to Nakamura, tactics are supremely important as you climb and even if you have great opening sense someone with great tactical understanding will beat you. That being said, you'd probably climb really quick if you could truly do that.

[@TheUnifiedMind]

+Joseph Victor I'd say that would take you to 1400 actually. After that tactics become a real concern and players are often aware of hanging pieces and don't really make that many opening blunders. I say that because right now I'm at 1400 rating and heading for 1600. The road to 1600-1800 is going to mostly be about tactics and how to coordinate your pieces properly for sure because that's what I see in my game. Need to calculate my responses better and to improve more on tactics so I can recognize the patterns. Vince don't focus too much on opening really. Get the basics right - Develop, don't move a piece more than two times, castle and connect your rooks. Don't leave loose pieces and that should take you to 1300 or so. After that you're gonna need to focus down on tactics. In any case, why wouldn't you? Tactics are so much fun!

Great vid, although I find it better to take the second pawn in Blackmar-Diemer. It doesn't go deep down in theory, basically just two moves to study here. Nxf3 would allow me to pin the knight and mess up the pawn structure, and Qxf3 (preparing halosar trap) would allow me to trade queens and win with the 2 pawn advantage on the road.

[@Zeppelin616]

At 4:00, ...Bxe4 is actually the best move. After Nxe4 black can simply reply with ...Qe7 and if Qe2, ...Qxe4.

[@josephvictory9536]

+RidingOnLightning Bishop d3 instead of Qe2

[@Zeppelin616]

Joseph Victor If Bd3, black can play d5, right?

[@josephvictory9536]

RidingOnLightning Hmm you're right. Looking at your line a bit further, Qe2, Qxe4, Bxf6 Qxe2 (check) Nxe2 Nxf6 and you are one pawn up in the exchange.

[@thechessfish]

8 years before the Cow opening existed and he says dont play openings named after animals 😂

[@CarlosSilva-cx6oh]

in the first game at 4:30 I'm pretty sure you can take Bxe4 because you have Qa5+ stuff that works for you..

[@crabcow3765]

No it won't because after Bxe4 the knight doesn't have to recapture, Bxf6! and black loses.

[@Dracstar]

I love the questions you ask! Everything about this is very instructive and entertaining. Thank you :)

[@lopez316a]

Hey John - just got back into chess about 2 months ago, after not playing since I was a kid. LOVING your channel dude. I'm kind of stuck around the 1,200 rating........and I know that cutting out blunders is my main thing to focus on right now. I was wondering though - how many moves of calculation is a good aim for someone at my level right now? I struggle with visualising the board when calculating anything other than a series of straight forward exchanges. Many thanks and keep up the great work :)

[@udubnate]

my favorite series hands down, let me know if anyone knows a comparable one!

[@nathanielpeter3296]

I foretold this title " Climbing the Rating Ladder on youtube " during the auto accident. I already feel like I have watched this video in dreams even before I am watching it now.

[@NerveEnd]

Craziest comment on youtube

[@slayerem]

I've came back to chess after 25 years of break... long story short, I had a teacher in elementary school that loved the game, that was participating in competitions and that taught me the basic stuff (I was idk.. 8 - 9 maybe) but soon after he left our school and I had nobody to play with anymore. Recently (it was around the time Sinquefield cup was going on) some random chess video came up as a suggestion on youtube and it didn't took long before I got completely hooked up again. I've made an account on chess.com also and in these 2 months I reached this stage of rating (¬1100 on rapid and blitz). I am aiming to improve my game and continuing to enlarge my knowledge about chess (I am following most major tournaments and I have enjoyed quite a lot of Yasser Seyrawan's & Ben Finegold's lectures, I just enjoy every second of every videos of these two) and tonight I have found your channel. Was a very instructive presentation (especially knowing I've made that type of blunders myself) and I'm gonna look more into your other videos. I'm sure I'll find more great content. I know it's old video of yours but it's new for me and I wanted to express my gratitude to you and everyone else who helps keeping this wonderful game alive. For years I thought that it's mostly dead and forgotten but it seems it was just me not looking in the right way.

[@kleidimico2582]

Amazing...this is probably my level and this is very helpful.

[@KakashiHatake-vu2hm]

hey john, i see your videos getting recommend by people on reddit, so should i watch your fundamentals video before watching this video or is it okay to watch this one without wathing that fundamental video?

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Hey there, appreciate you checking out my videos! I'd probably start with the "Fundamentals" videos, but you can't go wrong with the "Climbing the Rating Ladder" series either :) Best wishes for your chess improvement, and let me know if you have any questions.

[@NortinhoFB]

Wow! Just found your channel after your battle vs Niclas, another guy who i watch all the time. I just started playing chess for about 2 months and I've been studying a lot of openings and tactics, but since i'm low 1000, most of the times my opponents don't play the main lines, or make moves that I know i can punish, but just don't know how, your videos are very instructive in this aspect, thanks a lot!

[@benjaminkozak8391]

I just watched a few of your videos in this series. They helped a lot! I've been crushing people, I have climbed 100 rating online (1200 to 1294), and I am on a win streak, all in a few days of playing. My openings are much better and the tip about playing with more time (5|5) helps me improve more compared to shorter time games (5|0 & 3|2). Thanks for the tips!

[@mcloutier5]

Hello John. Thank you very much for your training series. Totally exceptional. I've posted this comment on this video because it's about where I am. I play mostly against my Mac computer running an old operating system (the program is called Checkmate! and the manual says it is ELO rated at 2000). That's probably unnecessary background. My question: Aside from the centre squares in the early parts of the game, how do you determine which squares are important? I see you talking about how you're going to attack different squares in different points in a game, but I get a little lost in the justification. If my question needs more explanation, I'm happy to provide that. My comment about your series: totally excellent because you don't waste time on introduction or irrelevant stories or blah, blah, blah. You dive in -- all business. As a person with a long way to go and a short time to get there, I appreciate it. Thank you.

[@jordan75212]

yes, great stuff thanks. do you live in the UK?

[@timursimanko7174]

Thank you so much for that, you Really Helped me with some Major Problems I had

[@tagginos]

LOL. How come all my 1100-1200 opponents seem to play like Caruana but these guys hang pieces and blunder every other move.

[@fasteddiejs]

Exactly what I thought. I guess it’s the pressure of playing an IM

[@Umahdibro]

What an excellent video. God bless you John.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

+Mahdi Le Thanks!

[@Kamil-xg3gb]

Wow this is so great, thank you for improving my chess

[@TheMyAlchemista]

Wow nice knowladge there You guessed Macedonian flag

[@mihaicarstea3085]

So only now have I discovered this series on your channel and I wanted to say that it is very instructive. Only after watching this video, I have already spotted some mustakes that I was constantly doing in my games and your explanation is exemplary. Thank you for making these phenomenally good videos for players like me!

[@MAMP]

Thank you for doing this I’ve been stuck around 1150 for my whole life , maybe plus or minus 50

[@DanielMoss]

another great video! Thanks so much for this and the fundamentals series. I've jumped from ~1300 to 1400 in tactics and ~1200 to 1300 in play thanks to your guidance

[@tomdron]

is there a specific reason to play Re7 instead of Re6?

[@npecom]

I am really liking this series. I may be helping teach kids chess in GT (K through 12) soon and this is very helpful. Subbed.

[@marcjohn9404]

What I've noticed is that at lower levels, players are more likely to be incredibly aggressive. When I was like 800, 900, 1000, I saw a lot of scholars mate attempts and when I was really low rated I'd even fall for them, but it was actually really good practice because now I know a lot of those silly little tricks that the players of that level like to play. I also noticed that aside from playing trick openings like that, they'll also go for what they see as instant material gain with little to no calculation, like with that Rui Lopez you played where they took the knight I think his plan was that he was going to win a pawn and I've seen that a lot in the lower brackets because the players are super aggressive and they feel like they have to be capturing and attacking constantly rather than being patient with the position. I think what some people struggle with is that they don't know how to set up a position where they can let the opponent work himself into a bad position with his aggression, and when I learned how to do that better is when I started improving.

[@lwivfhuqlfaiouhs]

fantastic series, really have been learning a lot. mostly to play simple straightforward and logical chess. as someone getting into the game and being swamped with conflicting ideas and opening strategies its great to see someone cut a clear path through the brush. subscribed and eagerly devouring your back catalogue!

[@producertech]

You're an outstanding teacher John! Incredible videos. I follow a lot of different masters and streamers on here but you're absolutely my favourite currently. I learn sooo much from all your vids. Thanks heaps!