Climbing the Rating Ladder vs. jquirote10 (1564)

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

EDIT - 9/22/2018: My opponent's account was closed for fair play violations. A shame that a viewer would cheat against me. Like pretty much all of you, I was suspicious of his incredibly accurate and fast play in the second half of the game, but it's important to allow the sites to make the final call. Given his "rating appropriate" play at the outset I thought there was a small chance he played the game cleanly and understood the fortress, but alas :) Anyways, Climbing the Rating Ladder will obviously continue...hopefully against honest players! I'll leave the below message up for posterity. Thanks everyone for watching! [My original message - before Chess.com banned my opponent] Please do not harass my opponent or post hateful messages on his profile! Unless Chess.com says otherwise, he managed to find a brilliant defense in a very tough position and should be congratulated for his tenacity. It's true he played many accurate moves very quickly, but that is not definitive proof of cheating. Chess.com is doubtlessly aware of this game, and they are the best equipped to render a verdict. Let's wait, be respectful, and hopefully learn something from this game.

[@lagerbaer]

I feel like if he knew that it would be on youtube it'd be crazy to cheat, wouldn't it?

[@TSgitaar]

I have learned a great deal from this game (regardless of a 'cheating' opponent). You are a gifted teacher and a true professional. I am impressed that you were able to draw against this formidable opponent, the Rafa Nadal of chess.

[@EncryptedBear8]

It’s not 100% certain that he was cheating, but it‘s very likely. I am rated 1700 on lichess and 1800 in tactics (also because I learned lots from watching your videos John), and I would have never found moves so quick in the endgame. I played a 40+20 tournament last year and I doubt that I would have played the endgame so well even with sufficient time and full focus. I wouldn’t insult him though. If he indeed did find these moves himself he should take it as a compliment that people think he played so good that he would have to have been cheating. But this game was great to watch, I might have learned a thing or 2. You are a great teacher, John. This series is great. Another request is, please do a rematch with Simon Williams.

[@user-gc2jx4gj2q]

If he was not cheating then he was very lucky and unlucky at the same time. Lucky for having found some very accurate moves at the end as you mentioned. And unlucky for having a very inconsistent and suspicious time management: Just an example: 25. Rxh3 ---- 30s Ok so he is a very cautious player who needs time to make some obvious moves 30. Rxe3 ---- 10s Yes he really likes to take his time for these absolutely forced moves 31. Rxe7 ---- 1.6s Oh no maybe he is not that cautious after all! 39. Ne2 ----- 1.7s Very strong player who sees the right move immediately! 46. Kb3 ----- 1.2s yes he knows how the fortress works nothing to think about here 47. kc2 ----- 16s ok maybe he needs time to think about his king moves after all 49. hxg5 --- 8s no harm in double checking everything 51. Rxd4 --- 12.6 impressive spotting the knight fork 52. Rd2 ---- 13.4 however takes him longer to make the forced move 53. Rd6 ---- 53s ok taking time to see if there's any win 55. Kc3 ---10 s so he is a slow player who wants to make sure everything is defended 71. Kc4 --- 38s very much so 75. Re3 ---9s oh no he is actually quite strong and fast with spotting knight forks and doesn't mind playing cheeky moves! 76. Kd3 --- 12s ok back to very slow with the obvious forced moves I really don't understand his time situation.

[@nuklearwinter2892]

chess.com is very bad at detecting cheaters. You can easily just open a site like nextchessmove.com in another window and they will pretty much never catch you

[@zo626]

Climbing the Rating Ladder is good, but I am still wating on your romantic advice series Climbing the Dating Ladder.

[@markcurrie2545]

lmaooooio

[@isaac10231]

You win the internet!

[@SuperYtc1]

My advice is probably avoid that ladder. It’s a dangerous one!

[@goncaloalmeida7029]

Yes, we need this John, so we can all learn to MATE quicker :P

[@Mukki.Berlin]

I wish I could like this comment more than once!!

[@michaelthomheadley]

Please do a Rating The Climbing Ladder where you climb an actual ladder and rate the experience. For science

[@sharpchess724]

genius

[@humanrightsadvocate]

But that would be rating the climbing ladder.

[@danjeory3659]

Knowing John's luck, he'd find a ladder that cheats.

[@1812jacko]

Climbing and rating the ladder

[@angelowolff7127]

This was an awesome game, regardless of circumstance. Very well played by both John and Stockfish

[@eliastta437]

LMAO

[@alaamaoula2404]

LOLLLLLLLLL

[@michaelfortunato1860]

I've played chess for 60 years and have taught for 40 -- and your videos reflect a true gift for teaching. I truly enjoy them.

[@connormonday]

When I get a notification that IM Fins is online I always sit on the open challenges page in the hopes of one day getting crushed in a Climbing the Rating Ladder video lol

[@jayr7770]

Hi John, The climbing the rating ladder videos have without doubt made the biggest difference to my games. They are informative and easy to follow, John from Glasgow, Scotland

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Cheers, John!

[@SuperYtc1]

Hey John, this is John.

[@jhadesdev9576]

Not bad against stockfish for 40 moves!!

[@shanecommins7968]

On another note, and if he was cheating - I cannot understand a fan of the channel turning on an engine. I would absolutely love to play John in one of these, knowing full well that he'd destroy me. Who cares? It would still be awesome fun.

[@arshadhossainkawshik4054]

Post these videos more frequently john, we love em

[@shaun224]

Hey mate, thanks for the videos champ. I've increased my standard rating well over 600 points from watching your videos. I think changing my thought process and thinking deeper into each variation has greatly improved my chess skills. I wasn't doing that before I started watching your videos. I struggled to beat stockfish 3 just a couple of months ago, and now I can beat stockfish 7 on a pretty regular basis, thanks for the great content mate, cheers from Australia.

[@griffinwagasky2294]

I analyzed the game using stockfish and the guy was clearly using an engine. He was playing the top 3 moves nearly every time after the queen sac. Good job being so professional about it. Not too often you see a 1500 successfully defend against an IM with queen and extra pawn vs rook and knight

[@drewe9514]

As someone who uses engines for analysis on a daily basis, at his level he would have to have 2000+ knowledge on endgame patterns to hold. Don't know why trolls say that he's not cheating post queen sac.

[@griffinwagasky2294]

dunno23 any player that blunders such a simple tactic like Knight takes d4 winning a pawn and plays near best moves then on I’m going to be a little suspicious about...yes the queen sack and defense are not hard to see but it’s also completely different when you’re observing the game and not the one playing. If he’s not cheating then awesome he played well. I don’t throw out accusations like nothing.

[@robhunter1765]

why are you defending him so righteously? just look at the dudes account, 600 tactics rating.

[@midhunrajr372]

Even if he was using Engine, you just can't say something like that mister.

[@mikecantreed]

@@robhunter1765 How does one get to a respectable tactics rating by only solving 35 problems?

[@ivandragicevic6786]

Wow, that guy and the Stockfish make a formidable opponent.

[@NeverInterpreter]

John defended well!

[@august1268]

I am a 1500 myself. the first part of the game was realistic. reasonable but sometimes inaccurate- like I would play this. the endgame was clearly cooked up.

[@r302112]

No way a 1500 held that without an engine. Kudos to your professionalism JB

[@arsalkhan4497]

Keep up with these awesome videos, the ability to step into the mind of an international master is invaluable to players like me

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Thank you for your positive feedback. It's really nice to hear you learn from these!

[@jachat2002]

This should be in the Climbing the Engine Ladder playlist! Thank you for all these great videos John!

[@goncaloalmeida7029]

Engine says that the move g5 at 41:17, droped your advantage and allowed him to build a fortress. The engine says that its better that you move your King up to e4 and then advance your d4 pawn, making him take it and sacrifice the queen for his 2 pieces, winning the pawn endgame. The allegations of cheating on the comments can't be fully supported by evidence, but the facts are: - he played a very good opening - he made many mistakes in the middle game, like his rating would indicate - he played a perfect defense in the end game, no mistakes and always the engine move that would allow him to maintain the fortress If he indeed used the engine, I'd say the most suspicious moves would be from 28:24 up to 41:17 when John pushed g5, because those were the toughest moves to find for a 1556 player. So either he's much better that 1556, he had an inspired day (it happens) or used the engine. Those are my 3 options.

[@stop_tryharding]

It's not impossible for a player at his rating to find those moves, but a player at his rating wouldn't find them so quickly and maintain the fortress perfectly at that speed without blundering. That's not an inspired day. That's stockfish.

[@boceksiadam]

I was expecting to see him get flagged. The lower rated you're the longer you have to think to find the move. You can make good moves as long as you have time but once you're out of time you start making silly mistakes. In the end John was living off the increment yet white never fell below 4 minutes mark. And playing with the queen is easier than to play with rook and knight. I think this guy thought he was being very sneaky when he only cheated later in the game.

[@nakulbam5067]

Goncalo Almeida I don't think he was cheating

[@Immediately_]

While I think it looks extremely suspicious how evenly the guy played in terms of time (at the end) I wouldn't count out the idea that at his rating he could have just had very solid endgame knowledge of rook and knight vs queen endgames. That being said, his time management was *very* even. I didn't see much fluctuation at all.

[@TheHomicidalTendency]

Going by the strength and timing of his moves 99.9+% engine. It's easy to setup a position on your phone or in another tab and use an engine manually at any point in a game. It's why no serious chess players play slower time controls online. There is no doubt he was using an engine. Maybe his brother is a chess master and finished the game out for him (still cheating) but the odds of that are slim and the move timing is a dead giveaway as to this not really being a possibility. He was using an engine.

[@arabianchessfriends]

Finding perfect endgame moves in 5 to 10 seconds is just impossible for a player rated 1500. The smell of engine oil is all over the place now.

[@anthonywalsh3287]

C-AZ did you even watch the endgame the moves were simple and easy

[@TheHomicidalTendency]

Anthony Walsh Play it against an engine, see how simple and easy the moves are. I don't doubt t hat you could draw it, it is a fortress. But save your move times. The consistency is why he was still using an engine even after he didn't need it. Also getting to that position down material was not easy. In fact stocfish barely drew the game against John here. A GM would've lost almost certainly from that position. If you really think a 1500 did it you're delusional. 100% engine well I don't feel like typing a lot of 9's so I rounded up.

[@arabianchessfriends]

@@anthonywalsh3287 maybe for you, but definitely not for someone at 1500

[@anthonywalsh3287]

TheHomicidalTendency fair argument , however, I still don’t find it hard to believe that he needed stockfish to find those moves in 15 seconds or less most of the time. Especially as he was playing in defense and had plenty of time to think while John was making longer moves to figure out how to attack

[@bustersbrain]

I just discovered this series today and I absolutely love the format. Lucid explanations and great visuals... best live commentary I have seen.

[@Chanakya06]

Hi John, your climbing the rating ladder videos are very helpful. Keep doing this

[@davidb6477]

Hey John, Way to keep your cool. One of the things I learned from this video is that I can never let my guard down regardless how much I think I “deserve” to win based on rating. You kept digging in and finding strong moves when you could have coasting and waiting for a mistake. Well done against a tenacious defense.

[@marklouderback5438]

While not the most educating, the Magnus Carlson app games were most entertaining. I want more of them.

[@jakubsprega6935]

I'm back to the chess after very long time break and love your Climbing the Rating Ladder series! It's very instructive. Tons, literally TONS of knowledge! Thank you John.

[@drewe9514]

You should start a new chess series: To catch an engine user...

[@edmorrison5645]

"Have a seat..."

[@morganellis4656]

Always been my dream to see this with a super GM playing on a low rated anonymous account! Call it "To catch a cheater "

[@alexok8980]

Have you considered playing on an anonymous account? I think this guy got maybe got a bit self-conscious of his play knowing that this would go onto a popular KZbin channel and opted to use an engine toward the end in fear of judgement.

[@TheHomicidalTendency]

I would've thought that knowing the video was going on youtube would prevent him from using an engine. It really is an honor to play any titled player casually. Not something most people get to experience and good inspiration for younger folk. His chess.com profile is getting spammed with hate, I just left a comment asking the kid to apologize.

[@musical_lolu4811]

The guy's an idiot.

[@mizofan]

he had nothing to be ashamed of by losing anyway

[@AHandMadeFilm]

really appreciate your approach and especially the after game analysis, very instructive and a good habit to get into

[@Jagdwurststulle]

Hey John, thanks for the video! Would you please consider making another episode of "chess fundamentals"? I love that series!

[@seanm3189]

im 1700 rated and i still know quite little about fortresses. people saying this hack wasnt cheating are not correct in that assessment

[@asetr3w45]

What does it matter if you're 1700? This guy was playing perfect moves every 5 seconds

[@IanOkamoto]

Careful with the cutting back on coffee, John! It might be like a normal person cutting back on water -- dangerous territory...

[@markusbjorndal]

Always a joy when you post these videos John!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Thanks for watching, Markus :)

[@jakebishop7822]

So I consulted my good friend named whos very good at endgames, his name is stockfish 8.The position you had asked about in the end was winning for black, but you needed to keep your d pawn, when you played g5 a few moves later the evaluation went from about -6 to -4, before that you had played all computer moves from that position. Kf6 dropped the evaluation to -2, even though it says the evaluation is -2, if you play the game out using computer moves it repeats right away since there is no way to make progress. So the game was still possible to win until the d pawn was taken, from then on out it is drawn.

[@jakebishop7822]

also pretty sure he was cheating.

[@acidburn1783]

It's such a shame using engine in the endgame against an IM. It's an honour to play such a strong titled players, but people choose to use engine to hide their weaknesses. I have played 6 GM and 2 IM, lost all of them. But atleast I had good positions in the middlegame. Learned so much from them. It's better to lose rather than cheating. Thank you John for giving your insights during the games. It is really informative. Keep it up. Hope to play against you one day. Cheers!

[@Sulynn707]

Thanx for your kind instruction John, you explain things in a way I can really understand & learn from. Best wishes

[@Karim-ik5ij]

I think he turned on an engine towards the end

[@fabiankroger4645]

After he lost the pawn, probably.

[@dunno23]

He got a fortress setup which had very human and logical defense (which could be defended by players near that rating including me). Your comment is extremely ridiculous and stupid.

[@robhunter1765]

im the same rating as the opp, i wouldnt have found several of those moves, we arent 2000 rated players

[@SKELETON_FN]

So basically you’re saying that he must lose otherwise he cheats. Really??!

[@robhunter1765]

we aren't saying that, we are evaluating it on a move basis, having 0 blunders at this rating over 60 moves is increddddibbly unlikely, i speak from my own experience

[@nomvanhoutte1998]

Another fantastic video Minnesota Fins. I think I will keep my opinion of your opponents last fifty moves to myself. These Climbing the Rating Ladder videos are my favorite, keep up the good work.

[@bartvanpagee1526]

Can't ever have enough of these videos (read: please make more! :) ) Such a shame he cheated so obviously. The way you handled it is admirable though.

[@ToddsDiscGolf]

I think we love these videos because a lot of us are lower rated players (sub 2000) and we love your helpful tips to our class of player during these. I know that I personally love when you do videos on fundamentals

[@alwaysprepared]

Love your well commentated videos. I learn a lot from them. Kudos to you for being professional and not accusing him of cheating during the game or after. But, I figure it was definitely in your mind at the time. As a 1500 player, I would have no clue how to set up a fortress or even that it was a thing! Way beyond my level, particularly with time pressure! That being said, you played great!

[@aaromal_rs]

I have been waiting John! your videos are amazing and are so instructive! Thank you, and please keep posting more frequently!!

[@essaessa6889]

Clearly the guy was cheating ... i am amazed how you handel it ... i am sure the idea of him cheating crossed your mind ... but you have not mentioned it ... still i liked the video .. thanks from Somalia Africa

[@nakulbam5067]

essa essa I don't think he was cheating because engines do not make mistakes like he did. Okay you might argue that he started using it after the first half of the game but if he was going to use it why not use it for the rest of the game??

[@str1fe13]

It's a common strategy by cheaters to cheat for only part of the game, just enough to improve your result while trying to avoid suspicion.

[@TheHomicidalTendency]

@Nakul bam He was cheating. Your argument "why wasn't he using it the whole game" Because he used a lot of time in the opening and played poorly. He used very little time in the endgame and played perfectly. If for any second anyone thinks they could overcome what is probably 800+ rating point difference down material and an exchange in the opening to draw the much stronger player with out said player blundering badly by overlooking a hanging piece or something, know that you are wrong. It does not happen. This isn't a really lucky day for this kid. The fast moves with consistant time between each moves finding and then defending an open board fortress vs a queen. It doesn't happen. Even stockfish barely drew this position after the queen sac against John. The position was that bad. A 1500 had no chance.

[@TheHomicidalTendency]

"my opponents play for most of the game was beyond reproach, if anything my play was questionable" or something like that. John knew he was cheating. Go to the very end of the game where John congratulates his opponent. His face looks annoyed. Perhaps it's because he's disappointed in the game, but really he knew he was cheating.

[@essaessa6889]

@@TheHomicidalTendency i think so too ... this video should be how to draw with stockfish9

[@MrDrElbow]

Naive me. I was actually excited that a 1500 defended so well. I thought it meant there is hope for the rest of us.

[@number94]

He wasn't cheating in my view. The spirit of a deceased GM was haunting his mouse.

[@-_Nuke_-]

Black Exelent moves: 70 Good: 7 Inaccuracies: 1 Mistakes: 2 Blunders: 0 Best move: 69.7% White Exelent moves: 69 Good: 9 Inaccuracies: 1 Mistakes: 1 Blunders: 0 Best move: 67.1% Avg. Diff: 0.13 for both. John handled pretty well against sto... I mean his opponent :)

[@victordeluca7360]

Holy shit, it's irl Hikaru no Go

[@lsw3364]

Pretty suspicious when someone drops pawns for free in the early - mid game but then somehow plays a perfect knight + rook vs queen endgame and forces a draw vs an IM. The reason he keeps offering a draw is because the engine is giving 0.00 and he probably feels too guilty to win on time.

[@bustersbrain]

I listened to your interview on Perpetual Chess and thanks for the "Tune your tactics antenna" book recommendation. It is awesome.

[@jannickackermans2449]

love this video i play the caro kann as my main opening against e4 and i like to hear these little positional toughts you have that hopefully will work in my games as well keep them coming

[@stop_tryharding]

Clearly cheating. You can see when it happens because all of a sudden when the position got complex he started playing really strong moves really fast. Just watch the time bars on the right side. He takes a bunch of time and plays like a 1500 player, shits the bed in the middle game, then turns on the engine for the end and starts blitzing out strong moves like a GM in the final stretch. Poor form.

[@stefankalniev7990]

nanobug hard to say he cheated though, because he only really has to hold the g3 pawn and the fortress stays alive, with lots of time on the clock+ increment I don’t know. I’m around his rating I felt it was a draw near the end

[@Flammable281]

stefan kalniev I am skeptical too and will suspect engine abuse in endgame. No way his rating allowed him to Set up that fortress. Even the IM didn’t see that until he kept the queen out.

[@GSBroker]

When even John got surprised by how strong his defense was, you HAVE to suspect he was maybe cheating.

[@othman31415]

yes, I think he was cheating at the end, the way he defended the endgame was truly impressive for his rating, he may have used the engin for only some moves.

[@allendowe6339]

I am similar rating and no way I saw any of that lol.

[@square444]

Hi John, keep it up with the caffeine cutback. Good luck to you on that!

[@thomasp3543]

Great video as always! Keep up the good work!

[@luisarturoreinoso1479]

you are the guy...!!! thanks for your enlighting videos they help me a-lot

[@filippostella6578]

min. 35:43 "unexpetedly tough guys!" - min 49:45 "he is defending like a beast!" . At least, we have some fun =)

[@gowjer]

Love these vids, you're da man john!

[@realbeetlejuice]

Subbed from Danny and Robert bagging on you bout your Scandi openings lol

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Those haters! ;) Thanks for subbing.

[@nwoDekaTsyawlA]

I am rated around 1300-1400, and while the endgame moves (no more takes, fortress set up) are somewhat "natural", I feel the way he established the fortress is completely beyond my skills. Not only he knew when to let go of the queen-side pawns, the way he moved the king before taking the d-pawn seemed unnatural to me at times (wandered to the queen-side at first, then came back after the d-pawn fell). And he found the very best squares for the knight and rook. Based only on that I would say he played like a 1700+ rated player, (nothing too out of the ordinary, I have beaten 1500 players before). But most strange of all is the speed of some of the moves, like not taking the pawn but quickly retreating the rook at move 43. Maybe a inspired defense, but my chips are on the engine.

[@alonsoboe5650]

Inspired by stockfish

[@carlosalbacete7913]

I just saw this video (one year after its release), and found it very instructive, John, thank you for your explanations. Having said this, it was obvious that either jquirote was a false 1500 player or he was cheating. It was surprising how well coordinated their pieces were, and his time management, having still 4 full minutes when his opponent, and IM, had to live from the increment.

[@DarrenSargent]

"I am girl from Egypt ".

[@mikeomara9194]

Awesome content John!

[@alexandersmith3687]

A drawn game...but only one winner here, thanks for another great video, John!

[@fireball890]

46:58 JB : "I can do this all day"

[@mengy007]

Love these videos. Keep it up John!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Thanks, Meng!

[@emregeylani]

John at 2:54 you traded your good bishop vs opponents bad bishop, what was the idea behind that?

[@hmmer3471]

51:00 Can someone tell me why Qe3 was not possible?

[@Sunsetjanice]

john, may be you can make a video of " how to analyze one's own game"?

[@Callofduty8678]

Can someone explain why John couldn't take the rook at 51:00?

[@Mayaman67]

I haven't played chess for years and as a 53 year old , you can't teach an old dog new tricks but I find these videos so therapeutic. As I am a teacher, I might start a chess club in the next school year. If the viewers have any tips on how to go about it, I'd appreciate any tips.

[@jasperhalsey8574]

50:56 lol. Guy definitely used an engine. Thanks for the instructive game John.

[@timothylee2772]

At 45:17, I would have tried Queen sacrifice in taking his knight. You take his last pawn. Your two pawns are in close proximity enough where you probably can push them up to promote one of your pawns. If not, you can't go worse than a draw.

[@vivek_yt]

Check out this #chess game: jquirote10 vs asian42 - www.chess.com/live/game/3073866821. This game shows his skills in chess. He made an outright blunder which even 1200s wouldn't have made. This guy is truly a genius at cheating. Hats off!!😂😂😂

[@KF1]

Wow endgame vs Luke Skywalker himself. That was insane. Saw in your comment that he was found using an engine, but even Luke moved with a mechanical right hand.

[@malegupta8404]

thanks for the vidoe and commentary sir you re the best

[@OregonMikeH]

Hi John, glad to hear your getting such positive feedback on this Series from others as well. It's been enlightening and enjoyable, Thanks, ... Mike.

[@InfoJunky]

Seems like engine play

[@azaz6951]

Haha this game reminds me of some of my games. Completely smash my opponent then all of a sudden they turn into a grandmaster

[@MjrLeegInfidel]

Would F5 have been a better spot for the Knight at 10:00?

[@OregonMikeH]

UPSTANDING SERIES JOHN I"M SUCH A MAJOR FAN, ... Great Fun and externally helpful. Blessings Pal, .. Mike,

[@shreyasrajapurkar3816]

52:56 could Qg3 work? Qg3 Rg3 Kf4....looks like a good line I'm just not skilled enough to calculate to decisiveness.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

I think I lose after Rg1 at the end of that line, e.g. ...Kf3 Rf1+, or ...g3 Ke2.

[@J0sho495]

1500+ player who made 0 blunders in 80 moves according to Lichess analysis. Interesting...

[@acidburn1783]

0 inaccuracies would be very dubious.

[@jm4giv]

Love these games. U deserve more subscribers. Anyway good to see u playing any game. Have a nice day!

[@DevN9007]

Suggestion : coordinate with one of your lower rated twitch subscribers and play them instead. Removes any possibility of cheating

[@SuperYtc1]

It doesn’t remove any possibility of cheating.

[@drewe9514]

If they're a regular on twitch it would suck to get banned on both platforms. Maybe only twitch subs or people who donate so there's an incentive not to cheat.

[@pasxizeis]

It makes it less probable though.

[@themightychickens]

Someone who pays money to the guy would be significantly less likely to risk getting banned from the channel for cheating.

[@happy_labs]

It's not much of a stretch to say that someone who's active in the twitch chat and has some sense of community enjoyment of John's content, is extremely unlikely to cheat in a casual game against him for educational purposes

[@Enderboii47]

Surprisingly instructive! You are always a class-act John. @ 32:25 I wonder if after 36. Rf4 you actually had qd2 rf2 bxc3! (Rxd2 cxd2 and the pawn can’t be stopped)

[@theaveragegenius1376]

Where are the fashion videos

[@sankethjh4463]

Liked your content keep up the good work

[@AxeMurderer2222]

57:50 I think at move 24 it might have been better for white to play Qf1 instead of Qe1. Then follow with g3, Rd1 or Re1. It unloads from the rook some of the burden of h3 allowing it to operate more freely. And also gets the queen & rook out of that corner where they can help. Queen influences much better squares from f1 than e1 also, like b5, c4, & d3. After g3 she can influence the 3 longest white diags from that corner. Seems like this idea would offer more flexibility and better mobility for the queen. Also blocks Qh2 move. It allows the rooks to coordinate with each other rather than relying on the queen instead, which also mobilizes the queen. And if you can get g3 in before BxB on h3, you might even get to save the bishop out the back door...although that seems unlikely to me. I would be nicer to have a queen sitting over there on h3 and not have to move the rook over and back again.

[@rachelzimet8310]

At 44:38 my heart jumped into my throat because I thought you blundered Re3 (if Qxe3 Nd4+)... very fortunate that the rook is pinned to the king!

[@Socrates...]

love these videos, thanks

[@meshackdesane8442]

Hey John, I enjoy your vids brother, I'm new to the chess world and your vids are very informative.. my question to you is how does one properly prep moves, (ref 30:50 in the vid)? Is a dumb question, but I would enjoy your insight..

[@earthgariel]

The CK was an interesting opening choice; although, I don't think it is one of the stronger ways to play for a win against 1.e4

[@olipop84]

@john bartholomew watching your videos helped me get from 1000 where I’ve been stuck for the past 6 months to 1150 in just a couple of weeks. Thanks so much. Any chance we can schedule a lesson? Thanks again!

[@glenndunn7884]

Why do I go through spurts and win. A bunch of games kinda of easily and then I have to struggle to win just one

[@D0b3rman68]

I am a new player. I am watching your older videos. Quick possibly dumb question. After move 75 white move to Re3, why couldn’t black capture the rook???what am I missing? (At 51:01)

[@bbb111-jr9ny]

Knight d5

[@crucru4000]

At 51:02, why can't the queen just take e3?

[@danriley6237]

I actually just watched this and had the same question. I set up an analysis board and quickly discovered white could go Knight to D5, forking the King and Queen, so therefore getting the Queen!

[@black_squall]

Wow, instructive game. Good example of how losing your queen doesn't always mean losing the game.

[@jean-sylvainouellet6040]

Yeah I am around 1700 in rapid and I had some doubt with the fast rook Re3 first, but standing to the idea of a complex fortress is over our rating even more I think. GG John, always got class in defeat, you did not lost your cool there.

[@sergioropo3019]

Cheating is going to ruin chess on line. I think these people can't even help it. Cheating is a hell of a drug.

[@winstonsmith5854]

So true. I cannot even understand the joy of it. I mean: playing, thinking is fun, right? So dumb to cheat.

[@87rtlandry]

What happens if you play f6 with intentions of playing g5 attacking the h-pawn and the Knight.

[@findmads]

Maybe he too was climbing the rating ladder and his real name was Karpov :D no chance in H that I would have found all these super accurate moves in just seconds and I'm an amature rated 200 pts above him. Amazing to see John not giving in to all these engine moves, keeping his cool!

[@findmads]

That would be 200 above John's rating of course, hahaha

[@lucifereve881]

I always lose when I play the caro kann it is a CURSED opening. I always have problems with my kingside especially in the advance variation. I hate it.

[@drewe9514]

Checkout the Panov Attack for black!

[@ChrisPBacon-gq2po]

Me 26 year playing chess. This player find move I not find. Rank below 2200 not have this play. The problem with low rate player is to think deep. He can calculate 15+ variation 10 ply thick, from open game to end game, no way. He can play out entire game with visual mind? He must be grandmaster with fake account or fake account with grandmaster skill, no way.

[@G0LDSNAKE]

I was thinking after ..37. Qd2+ 38. Kf1 Qd1+ defending the g-pawn. The c-pawn always looks weak and it seems tougher to coordinate white’s position.

[@ManuBeker2]

John Bartholomew is so wholesome I love him