Handling a Speedy, Aggressive player | Standard Chess

In this 1.d4 game, Black comes blazing out of the gates with a popular reply online, 1...c5. Although I like 2.c3 as a practical option (inviting a transposition to an Exchange Slav after 2...cxd4 3.cxd4 d5), here I play the principled space-grabbing move, 2.d5. My opponent continues their blistering pace, and even sacrifices a piece within the first 10 moves! Against such players it's important to take your time (strictly avoid "matching" their pace) and capitalize on the carelessness that will likely creep into their speedy play.
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[@JohnBartholomewChess]

WOW, you guys really came through in the comments! Floored by your responses. Really appreciate it guys - cheers! More long-form content to come 👍

[@jonshive5482]

Yaaay! Thanks John, watching your longer games is both pleasurable and instructive.

[@KingoftheJuice18]

John, you and Danya are by far the best chess teachers online. Thanks for what you offer the chess community!

[@kurtozan251]

Agreed

[@josephsmith4009]

Yes, John and Danya for sure are light years ahead of anybody else. I would like to put Stjepan in the same category because he tries really hard but he just doesn't have the skill level.

[@matthewwesly8018]

For sure! Though my girlfriend can't stand Naroditsky's voice, so she is also very happy about the return of John's "Standard Chess" videos!

[@KingoftheJuice18]

@@matthewwesly8018 If you meant his Russian Chess master impersonations (which I love), I could understand. But his regular voice is totally normal 🤔

[@DarkSideChess]

@@matthewwesly8018 Not everyone can have the Grischuk voice!

[@jeffberg8015]

Hey John, in the 1990's I used to be a player and director at the St Paul Castle Chess Club, back when Minnesota was kind of a chess desert, at least at the international level. So when you started playing I followed your progress on the scholastic rating lists and tournaments as one of Minnesota's brightest chess lights. Of course when I found out a few years ago that you had a KZbin channel I started following that as well. I was gratified to find that outside of being one of Minnesota's strongest players you were also a nice person in general. Congratulations on all your successes and thanks for being a great representative of our home state.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

That's amazing! I owe a lot to the Castle - I really cut my teeth with competitive chess there. Cool to hear you were involved in the 1990s. Thanks a lot for following my chess career - I appreciate your kind words. Cheers, Jeff!

[@mcbain7606]

Hearing you say you don't care about views you care about comments. Thank you John. You have given me so much education and enjoyment over the years. Without you I don't think I would have become passionate about chess. I began watching you 5 years or more ago when I first began playing, and I still love all of your content I have watched probably every video. Thank you for your humility and your willingness to share your high level education skills on this platform. There are other good content creators, but I think in term of if you want a teacher, you're the man as you understand what a learner needs in a way which nobody else in the chess community does. You are a legend, thanks so much.

[@nikhilthomas6481]

John blessing us in 2023

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

😅

[@calmw16]

Fellow Eagan alumni here. I always love the standard time control videos. Gives a lot more instruction and time to think.

[@V61Sunda]

Hey John - just wanted to thank you for the time and effort you put into making these videos. Your clear and thoughtful commentary has helped me think through my own games so much more. I bounced around the 1100-1300 rating range for years but just by watching your videos I've broken through the 1500 ceiling (which used to feel unreachable) relatively quickly! Upwards from here! Hope you feel better soon and get back to making videos, I'm addicted!

[@nathanmermilliod3135]

So unbelievably glad John is back

[@chess_fella]

I’ve gone from 800 to 1600, and I can mostly attribute that to your instructive videos. Thanks John!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Fantastic progress 👏 Keep going!

[@jarrydscully1848]

Always a fun and instructive event when you come back on KZbin, and the standard series is my favorite. Thanks again for the content!

[@Nerfgunninja]

Agreed!

[@mitchstookey]

Thank you John for the awesome content! I credit my love of the game to stumbling across your channel years ago, I've joined the Lichess League based on your talking about it and your enthusiasm for the game is contagious, I tell everyone about your channel. Looking forward to all your content in 2023 and you playing enough classical games to lose your provisional rating ;)

[@vamvenom1102]

John, you have no idea how much I love seeing your content! Please keep these videos coming. Chess world needs a top class educator like you.

[@vijaynmane]

I haven't said this enough. You have been the beacon of chess awareness and improvement for many years

[@alexanderz91]

Hey John, love your videos. Very instructive as always. Have you ever considered making an opening themed video series? Something like Lichess Plays or your climbing the rating ladder series, where you play lower rated opponents, except here you would play with the same opening plan in every game of a single video, or something along those lines. I think it could be very instructive for people (like me) who are trying to learn a specific opening:)

[@Natenanimous]

Your 15-minute videos are my favorites. The faster videos can be fun to watch, but I appreciate the extra instructive value from the 15-minute games where you have time to go through your thought process, variations, etc. I always appreciate your content!

[@theJW55]

Hey, John! Glad to hear that you appreciate our comments! It's nice that you take a personal interest, that really means something! So glad to see two Standard games posted close together for the first time in, well, years! I get so much out of them, I have literally been through your entire set of Standard games at least five times!! There are lots of chess channels that are great for entertainment (Rosen, Gotham Chess, Botez, etc.) but for true instructive content, you and Danya are easily the best. Hope that you find the time and the passion to keep Standard Chess going again, but even if not, I will always be thankful for what you have done for the chess community online!!!

[@artcamp7]

Hi John. Your Chess Fundamentals series was THE BEST series of its kind that I have ever seen. And I recommend it to everyone. I know you have a lot of irons in the fire but your videos have had an influence on me as a chess fanatic and I'm a big fan. Good to see you making youtube videos again.

[@mikhails5483]

What an awesome opportunity to listen to an IM's thoughts in depth (not just blitz) during live play. Thanks John!

[@h0wnr681]

You were the first chess KZbinr I really learned how to play from, it's great to see your videos popping up more! Seeing how this played out for black, you gotta' think a Benko approach would be much better for their style, not sure where they even came up with this f5 idea.

[@cychiu98]

"Bit of an anticlimactic game in terms of competitiveness I'd say" -- elevated trash talking from J.B. Thanks for the game, John!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

😅 Thanks for watching!

[@Carl-Gauss]

Thank you for upload, these long games are my favorite!

[@connectingthepieces4845]

I know your probably busy with different projects. But this is your staple. It's where people discovered you and much of your know about came from imo. Very grateful you are continuing this series 🙏🏻

[@yairdvora871]

I love the slow games with the lines of thoughts explained! Thanks John!

[@calebmceachern7325]

I really enjoy the longer time controls where you have time to explain your thinking and then review the game after. Learning how to analyze and review chess games is something that gets skipped by most Chess Streamers.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Absolutely! Chess games are like icebergs: 90% of it is below the surface.

[@yawn8974]

Aw yeah, I can't get enough of these! Seriously your videos in general (and especially the standard games/CTRL) are my absolute favorite YT content. JB THE OG Love the calm response to aggression. It's so easy to feel like you "deserve" to punish your opponent when they play like that. Straight-forward ideas, thorough calculation, and patience usually deals with these kinds of players pretty handily.

[@bryanmc9430]

Easily my favorite chess channel on KZbin and one I've learned the most from!

[@michellegelfand8479]

A lot of chess content nowadays is strong players playing very fast time controls with the audience just barely following, and you learn nothing from it. Hearing you think out loud like this is incredibly instructive and exactly the type of content that i look for! Thank you for posting these!

[@rosbiffy]

I got so much from Climbing the Ratings Ladder series a few years back. I so appreciated the respect you paid to players so far below your rating. What really struck home was the analysis of your move choices as well as those of your opponent. This, perhaps, more than anything helped me improve my game. It offered a path to improvement through simple checks on one's choices. My chess thinking improved immeasurably! I've learnt much from other KZbin coaches although none quite match you in terms quality of analysis and ease of comprehension.

[@WaljijahAgradagrabad]

Really enjoyed this video. Especially appreciated the tip about not matching your opponent's time in slower time controls, and the showcasing of concrete attacking ideas and lines in intuitively completely winning positions.

[@cheesiechess3656]

I like how calmly you think about the position and considers your options. It's really nice to hear your thought process.

[@camerongeyer3789]

Thanks so much John for all the instruction, genuine interest in sharing your knowledge of the game, and good old fashioned fun. Love every series you let loose! I think you've single-handedly dragged me kicking and screming from 400 to 1600, and I won't stop watching your videos any time soon!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Love to hear it - that's quite the rating climb! Thanks for watching, and keep up the great work

[@4dragonzzz]

I love your comment about having mentors you've never met. I have learned soooo much about chess over the last couple years and almost all of it has been from people I have never met. Your content is really great and I really appreciate the work you put into it.

[@drewhughlett5247]

Can’t get enough of these higher rated and longer time control games, incredibly entertaining and educational. Have you consider adding the opening played in the video title and creating time stamps in the description to improve accessibility? Thanks again for sharing these games and your analysis!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Thank you for watching! Yes, I will probably go back and index/standardize these video titles at some point. For now, I think it's better to keep the titles shorter for visibility purposes, but I totally agree that having the opening tagged would be helpful down the stretch.

[@lordofcoding5]

Your videos are an educational goldmine for the chess community. Whenever a friend wants to get into chess, I recommend your Chess Fundamentals videos from years and years ago. and you still haven't ceased imparting wisdom. This video really made me think about how I personally handle these kinds of players, and how a slower, calm and thoughtful attitude can really throw them off balance!

[@PabloG-iz7kb]

Thanks for the video John. This sort of content with longer time controls is awesome and has a ton of value for beginners or intermediate players like myself who are looking to improve their understanding of the game. I remember watching your Chess Fundamentals series when I started my chess journey some years ago. I still go back and rewatch those videos from time to time. Thanks for all the content that you put out!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Cheers to checking out the archives! 😀

[@goldenlion3184]

These longer games really allow for an interesting explanation of some of the deeper lines, alternative tactics, and strategic philosophy. Thanks, John, these are just great!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Agreed

[@alejandrovaqueiro9457]

Thanks John for the instructive game! We face speedy opponents a lot, seeing how you handled the situation was so inspiring. Keep it up!

[@VictorUdd]

This series (and the "original" Primitive Technology) are my absolute favorite KZbin videos! So glad you both are back to regularly posting videos 😊

[@MrMaximum100]

I can't overstate how much value I get from your content, John. From your courses on chessable to videos such as this, it's a blessing to have players of your calibre articulate concepts and ideas accessible to players of all skill levels in a calm and casual manner. Glad to see you get back into uploading videos, you'll always have a viewer in me :)

[@MrMarinelliBio]

Exciting any time I see a John Bartholomew video come up. Your content is unparalleled in its instructiveness. Very happy you have started posting again!

[@nickburggraaf3977]

Thank you too John! I started with your Chess Fundamental series and got addicted to chess pretty quickly.

[@abdullazizalsaidy3740]

You were my first chess content creator i watched I really love this series, hope u doing well , really appreciate ur content and teaching 👍🏻♥️

[@sean101101101]

Wow, i always thought these Benoni structures were closer to equality, surprising to see evaluations that high so early in the match! I hope I see my opponents try f5 in the future. I currently see a lot of Benoni and Benko online, and not as much over the board, which tracks with the data. Great video John!

[@odysseas573]

Computers simply hate the Benoni. Especially these new NNUEs

[@Tanguy31130]

I started to play chess again thank to you 7 years ago and i'm still whatching your videos, thx !

[@bluefin.64]

This is the first video of yours YT recommend to me in long while. Glad to see you're back in full swing.

[@ferhanhussain4737]

Loving the longer time control 😁 Feel like my aging brain can learn more, and mentally play along with you easier at this pace. Thanks a million for all the amazing instrucive content John!

[@brookelovett2847]

Really enjoying these classical games where you have plenty of time to discuss and analyze the position. Thanks for all the new content. You have introduced countless people to the world of chess.

[@ravihammond]

This is the best series you've ever done. Please never stop, I learn so much from you in-depth analysis.

[@thedarksoulsveteran]

I could watch you play chess all day John. Thanks for taking the time to make us new videos you’re a legend.

[@jaydub2971]

As a Benoni player, I found your approach to handling the Czech Benoni extremely interesting. Thanks for posting & talking through the process.

[@czvxi]

Created an account to say I love your videos, John. Your Standard Chess videos especially are a great model for how to play and think about positions.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Hey, thanks a lot for that!! Glad my content has been helpful to you.

[@jesgluckner]

This is really my favourite format from you! I'm glad you are posting more of these again.

[@luissoto3933]

John you got me into chess, and now im top 100 in my country. Your content is top notch, and its honestly so relaxing 😌. Thank you for your work 👍🏼

[@tbones2583]

Which country!?

[@Doc92IDH]

That's sick, congrats!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

DUDE that's amazing!

[@cjtakoz]

John thank you for blessing our KZbin feeds with this content recently. Love hearing your thought process during games

[@emregeylani]

John I'm so happy to see you with the new content. I've been following you since 2018 and you are by far my favorite chess KZbin teacher. I was using the upvote button to track your videos I watched and thought I learned. But lately I noticed there are too much to rewatch and learn from your old videos since now I'm a better player and can appreciate/understand more. So please continue doing this and thanks again for all your support.

[@chessloversonly]

Glad to see you are back John!! You are one of my favourite chess KZbinrs! Since I found your content years ago, I have loved all your videos!!

[@Callusny]

I find myself matching the speed of fast players, even though I’m a fast player myself - that’s just impatience that I’m working on. When I’m fast my blunders go up like 5 fold. Great video.

[@zawzawz88]

John, if what you really motivates you is seeing these positive comments, I will give you props on every standard video when you keep them coming on a regular-ish basis. Thank you, these are fantastic.

[@andrewbuchan6122]

I've learned the fundamentals of chess through watching John's videos. Every time I play online, I usually always remember the essentials now. Thank you for all your videos!

[@kleinblues]

Thank you John for all the content you've given us over the years, and so happy to have you back posting. You have a real gift as both a chess player and educator, and my own passion of the game owes a lot to you. 👏

[@frodounderhill7084]

13:57 John with great study advice: "Keres absolutely required!" I wholeheartedly agree. :-)

[@cristianojunior3829]

Hi John, great to see you picking up the consistency of uploads again! I started following you back in 2015, when I was in high school... now I'm graduating from college and it's still a joy whenever I see a new upload from you. Much of what I know about chess is due to your content - thanks so much for all the knowledge you've shared over the years! Regards from Brazil :)

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Wow, time flies!! Congratulations on your college graduation! Thanks a lot for continuing to watch, and best wishes with your personal and chess endeavors going forward.

[@sailorjerry3720]

So happy John's back! Really appreciate and enjoy these posts!

[@Aldric524]

I'll add my two cents John. I love the standard series. It's amazing. I tried you out when I had gotten through a certain amount of Naroditsky speed runs, and a rl friend suggested you. I have gone through right around 300 videos in this series in a few months. I love it. I'm sad that I'll soon be "done" with this playlist, but you have plenty of other videos. Hopefully I like them half as much as the standard series, if so it'll still be good.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Hey there, I greatly appreciate you watching + your friend's recommendation (please tell them I said hello!). Amazing that you've worked through nearly the entirety of this playlist. The good news is that I plan to keep it going for years to come, even though I haven't added to it lately. Cheers, and good luck with your chess improvement!

[@ugthemcnandala5641]

Thanks, John, for the videos. Watching you play chess and listening to your explanations has gotten me into the game!

[@krishnansuresh9206]

Thank you John! So instructive to watch you play calm and composed. You and Danya are the best chess teachers.

[@Top_Lad]

Thank you for the video John, you are one of the original KZbin chess instructors, and I'm glad you're posting more again. You were undoubtedly very busy with Chessable and such, so it's nice to see you can find more time to record videos these days.

[@skerpracso]

Very glad to see you posting these longer time control videos again. These are by far the most instructive and have helped me in my own chess a lot!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Happy to hear that!

[@Schachkraehe]

You were my first and most important KZbin coach and my inspiration for playing the Scandinavian. So thank you for your work. I enjoy every video :)

[@gf301]

Glad to hear these videos are being well received,I used to watch all the longer format games and I really missed it when you moved on to other things. So it's great to see you again and I do find these games especially instructive and interesting. Welcome back John!

[@StenApd]

I might not comment on your videos very often, but I'm always enlighted when I see a new update from you. You're very much appreciated!

[@peterm8461]

Hey John, this is guys. Love your longer instructional videos dedicated to teaching as opposed to the more clickbaity nature of the more popular chess streamers. Also as an Aussie who moved to the Midwest this year I appreciate your tips on surviving the winters here :)

[@zacharynohre]

Loving the uploads John! Thanks for all you do.

[@maoropizzagalli4153]

So happy to see this series back. Thanks John

[@cameronginochiochess]

Idk if you will see this on an older video, but WOW I can't believe it's taken me this long to start watching the Standard Chess series. I'm a die hard Climbing the Rating Ladder viewer, I honestly think I've watched every single one dating back to your very first videos at this point, I've even gotten to the point of re-watching lol. For some reason I just assumed Standard Chess meant higher level games with less educational content, I have absolutely no idea why. Anyways, long story short I am so happy I've realized that is NOT the case because I focus mainly on longer games such as 15+10 myself and wow. So happy I have hours and hours more content to consume from you. Thank you as always for the great content.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

That's fantastic to hear!! Thanks so much for checking out this series. Honestly it's probably my fault for your previous hesitancy, because if I could re-do the series, I'd name if something more descriptive than "Standard" :) But glad you found these games - there is indeed a huge amount of material to absorb from these videos.

[@aidac7863]

Thank you for the upload! It's really nice seeing you posting another video in this series, especially since this one really got me hooked into chess, also the Climbing the Rating Ladder and Chess Fundamentals, these are all priceless! Now I understand how valuable Black's dark squared bishop is in these type of positions and how to pressure it!

[@dougieF747]

You have the most instructive chess content on KZbin bar none.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

High praise - I really appreciate it!!

[@danbriggs3106]

man it was a dream come true to see a person of your caliber deal with aggressive tactical players in standard form ...i hope when you see this you can go fish for more ....oh by the way you wont believe how much seeing your thought process calculation helps me even though im a 2200 rated player ...i adopted your 2 candidates mental process focus and had a 2350 struggling not to lose ..then desperatly seeking draw ..never had a leg up on me lol....but most important is the thought process because there was nights i blew the whole day with self mistakes of poor thought process calculation...something bigger to see people think rather than hear their teachings!..much luv bro!

[@DarkLightning96]

Hey John, I dont usually comment on videos, but since you mentioned how the comments motivate you more than views/likes I thought I'd let you know that you're one of my favourite chess educators on youtube! Please keep uploading regularly, your videos are always very informative!

[@reubenator40]

I found these videos through gingergm. I love these videos from you John. You explain your thought process in such a simple way. The great thing is you have hundreds of videos for me to catch up on.👍

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Thanks a lot for checking out my channel, Reuben!

[@stanleym796]

Let’s go!! Prepping for a tournament soon and this gives me a ton of insight and practice!!! Thank you John for the best content, always!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Good luck in your tourney 👊

[@wesklepzig9493]

Love these longer games! So helpful to get full analysis and insight into thought process on deeper calculation. Thanks!

[@johnurschel1342]

Hi John, just wanted to say that I've been a longtime fan of your content. Your standard chess videos are incredibly instructive, and my favorite on all of KZbin. Thank you for all that you do!

[@vidan004]

Hey John, been watching you since 2014 and probably have watched >90% of the videos on your channel. It makes me so happy to see the success you’ve had through chess over these years. Keep doing your thing ❤

[@matteovrizzi]

Thank you John. I tend to be slow and cautious and these ultra aggressive players often get me flustered. Its hard to tell when they are just bluffing. Good instructive game! ps your standard games (and your old chess fundamentals-would love to see the next instalment) are the best chess resource online, cheers!

[@shri7105]

Broo watching u after so long time...I still remember back in 2019 I watched all ur videos

[@fuadyhidayat]

Always in love with your videos. The strategy, the comments, the explanation, truly educational. This kind of content is like nutrition for our brain.

[@DJJOHN92]

Long-time fan of your channel, John (say, 2015 onwards)! I join the sentiment that these standard chess videos are perfect. All the variations, tactics and lessons you can unfold in this format makes them my personal favourite. Thank you, and have a great new year!

[@andrewlocke5194]

I found this video pretty helpful. A lot of videos by professional players go way over my head, but this was great. Thanks!!

[@billiebuggs3370]

Yesssssss!!!! Standard games are back. I’ve literally watched all of them. These games helped me improve from 800-900 to 1200-1300

[@ryanpula9389]

You keep making them, we'll keep watching them! Thank again for the great content 🙂 I learned a lot from this video. I usually do play 2.c3, its simple and it will transpose many times into very familiar positions ...plus its a bit of psychological warfare knowing that the person looking for dynamic and aggressive play after 1...c5 will have to suffer slow positional play after 2.c3.

[@KhalilMuhammad]

Glad you’re posting again. I’m here for it. Thanks

[@megagunner12345]

Thanks John. Much appreciate you putting more of these videos out there. I love playing guess the move and then seeing your thought process afterwards. Liking and commenting for the algorithm!

[@wogghoppers]

So glad to see these again- I’ve watched almost all your older Standard videos

[@elbirdo_insoko]

Really happy that you might be posting more regularly this year. Your content is always super entertaining, but the best thing is that you're an excellent teacher! I've learned a lot from watching your vids. Thanks man!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Happy New Year, Sean! Thanks for watching!

[@nlpuckett8868]

This series along with danya’s speed run are so helpful with my thought process and improvement in chess. Keep it up John :-)

[@a11pu1poj]

Great stuff John, i recommended your channel to my coworker who is getting into chess! I watch these when im getting started at work. You also mentionned the screen capture in the begining, you could also put your camera feed in the lichess chat window on the right, lost of room over there. :)

[@connorlong3553]

Really good video, your videos have been crucial to me going from complete beginner not knowing how the pieces move just a couple years ago to over 1500 now, really do appreciate the content

[@hansgruber9093]

Really love the longer time control vids.. great to hear you explain your thought process during the games, really helpful

[@spencergreenwaldt6783]

Cool, calm and collected, one of your best teaching videos. Thanks John!