The "Flying V" Pawn Immortal

At the end of my Twitch stream on Mar. 11, 2021, I fielded some opening requests from chat. The Englund Gambit (1.d4 e5) was a top suggestion, so I decided to give it a whirl. Little did I know I'd be making 10 consecutive pawn moves to start the game! 😁
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[@douglaslegvold9215]

I’ve never seen John so happy, wild, loose and free!

[@zevthompson5721]

When he said "The blemish on this otherwise spotless game" I literally burst out laughing. What a fun, lighthearted match.

[@poppypeppers]

I watched the game live and I actually commented the same thing! It was good seeing him like that🥰

[@ネーブルオレンジ-p7i]

John he looks, like as homie guy who should be proud of going down deep into another' guyses hole as deep as he can.

[@ネーブルオレンジ-p7i]

@@zevthompson5721 John he looks, like as homie guy who should be proud of going down deep into another' guyses hole as deep as he can.

[@petrie911]

After 30. Qe1 Rxe1+ 31. Kd2 Rd1+ 32. Kc3 Kxf6, white is almost stalemated. His only legal move is to move the bishop back and forth between a2 and b1. The worst possible bishop--not only does it do nothing, it manages to prevent a stalemate swindle.

[@swift8821]

That would be hilarious!

[@dhruvjain7934]

Under rated comment ❤️

[@colin7242]

Gives a whole new meaning to “forced repetition” lol, you could just painfully push your pawns down the board while forcing him to move back and forth

[@RMF49]

So John could have had the longest chess game in history. “Creeping V”

[@theinacircleoftheancientpu492]

In actual fact you can play Re2+ and Rxc2+ doing a desperado sac of the rook even if the B is not on the board. (Snatching the pawn on e3 with check is better but superfluous to the idea)

[@AnnoShark]

IM Bartholomew after 10zillion pawn moves: "I may have misplayed this" Proceeds to win the game.

[@reidpattis3127]

Now this game is a gem. Vibing so much with it

[@Ninterd2]

John calling e3 lame was so surprising, I did not expect that attitude lol!

[@LDarlong]

Time stamp?

[@varishnakov]

@@LDarlong within like the first minute of the video.

[@griffinbur1118]

“OK, I’m eight pawn moves in”. love the dry humor in that (objectively great moves though)

[@bunkbeds3001]

Was half expecting another Bongcloud meme, but wow this was a real game that kept me enthralled from start to finish. I just HAD to see what happened next, and John's glee is something I just can't get enough of

[@SamAshworth91]

Looking forwards to the upcoming Chessable course on the Englund Gambit Declined (Advance Variation)

[@TheRovardotter]

Getting dominated by a positional player is so much more painful than being outplayed tactically in ten moves

[@TheSoulBlossom]

Yeah there's something extremely painful about "wasting" a game on a guy who's been playing the game longer and oftener.

[@Brian-Dahlberg]

Probably my favorite John video so far. You must have gotten some great news earlier that day. Thanks for sharing the game!

[@WhiskeySour89]

So nice to see John so cheerful!

[@andrewbeeksma7769]

john's in such a good mood this is hilarious ahahah

[@ryaghnaramansanthosh3140]

William steinitz : Don't make too many pawn moves in the opening. John Bartholomew : We are not doing that here.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Philidor: Pawns are the soul of chess John: Yes

[@ThomasEWalker]

@@JohnBartholomewChess then of your recent streams, this is the most soul-full game!

[@areyoucerealtube]

Good vibes in this one, John! lovin the chipper commentary, balances out the nasty moves on the board

[@RdHolland]

Such a fun game! John was like a boa constrictor. I didn't know about the concept of average centipawn loss until I watched this video!!

[@michaelthiemann1467]

John's opponent: "Hey, I made John think with my move! Terrific" John: "3.1415....." Joking, but great game and video. Other people have mentioned it already, but a very relaxed and happy JB -Oops, thought my funny quote was from this game, but I guess it was an earlier one

[@zyffe]

He can't keep getting away with this!

[@DuffmanChess]

21:25 The best dad joke you will ever hear.

[@cfgauss71]

More play like this, John! To quote from The Shining: All work and no play make John a dull boy!

[@nicholasvandervelden450]

i would f$&%ing love an agadmator recap - just helpless laughter

[@chesskw]

At 5:37 Bxe2 is game over for white. The pressure on f2 is crushing!

[@Airblader]

"He might be threatening perhaps... some stuff." I feel better about my thoughts while playing now. :-)

[@harshitbandi4579]

i like john even more when he is so free

[@henryprickett5899]

The new webcam energy on display in this game is awesome and terrifying.

[@dayoldeggplant]

John really put the Kibosh on this guy after declining the Englund Gambit. You *never* decline John's Englund Gambit.

[@fakereality5204]

U should always accept englund gambit

[@TomasWildViking]

What a fun game. Sort of reminiscent of the good old "Run'n'Gun" Lakers back in the early 80s :)

[@stevesidare2493]

Very good tips. Thanks! (PS: I see 1.e3 a lot in FB chess and have had a lot of trouble with it!)

[@Insubordinate1204]

Fun game. Never seen John laugh so much

[@mikemckenzie3488]

I stopped watching this a couple days ago, I came back and saw the nice mate.

[@tomrender89]

"a colour coded bananza" - J. Bartholomew 🤣🤣👍. What a great game to see.

[@bombud1]

Second. Love these videos. I've learned so much from you John. Thank you

[@oscarhard8684]

That bishop got buried alive lol

[@marcramon1578]

Yay, what a treat

[@lega0192]

"Dial 'V' for victory" :D

[@KingoftheJuice18]

Bad move, John...I mean, you should have gone with "Poultry in Motion" 🤣

[@ThomasEWalker]

It was too fowl... The chat on the stream was wall to wall hilarious.

[@magtirapaolo2530]

John has truly mastered tempo in this game

[@nomvanhoutte1998]

Fun stuff Minnesota Fins. When birds fly in a V formation usually one side of the V is longer than the other. Do you know why that is? It's because there are more birds on that side.

[@jefflane4264]

Hey John. Just wanted to thank you for all the great content. I am 60 years old this year and been playing off and on for over 30 years but never learned so much as I have from watching your videos. I was curious is chess your full time occupation now or do you also have another job? I can’t imagine you have time for anything else with all you do in chess.

[@leadnitrate2194]

I think it's his full time occupation, because along with streaming, he also is involved in Chessable, which seems to be successful.

[@tomsmith7146]

great video John when are you doing titled tuesday again i miss those streams

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Thank you! Been taking a break from TT the past few months, but I hope to get back to it in the near future.

[@ネーブルオレンジ-p7i]

John he looks, like as homie guy who should be proud of going down deep into another' guyses hole as deep as he can.

[@grim789]

Boom my Chess hero always good stuff!

[@Nathan00at78Uuiu]

He falls on his sword. Dramatic! LOL.

[@boatsandhoes4381]

"Wham!" - JB, Doctor of Whamology

[@danjeory3659]

John, did you have a bucket-load of caffeine before this game?? lol

[@tomsimonson3778]

Opening prep finally pays off!

[@rageagainstthemachineragea2497]

The Great John Bartholomew! 👍🏾💯

[@pigeonnnn]

Is this the Gambit opening?

[@hippophile]

Fun game! I thought 13 Nxb5 was an interesting idea to get some counterplay for W. But you didn't mention it (understandably)...

[@jaylenlenear3944]

John B Immortal!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

😁

[@michaelwayne583]

These are my favorite videos

[@boatsandhoes4381]

It sucks that the last 8 make sense

[@spencers5514]

Quack...

[@Royalflush168]

harder to follow without coordinates, especially from the black side

[@dabulls1g]

Gotta learn the chess board at some point

[@stevewild374]

Best ever v pawn structure is capablanca v treybal. At least best I know

[@hthought]

That was a super entertaining game :D

[@sooooooooDark]

11:10 oh yea actually that bishop is in a sarcophagus there the "V" shaped pawns that u build look like a pyramid

[@michael2244]

The Mighty Ducks!!! :D

[@jaylenlenear3944]

Rewatching this it really should be dubbed the immortal pawn game of the 21st century, 1.Nc3 e5 2.e3 h5 3.d4 is what I have in my notes starting the game since the actual moves were so lame as he says 😂

[@richardv.582]

John do you practice against strong chess programs like stockfish? And how do you fair?

[@FEUERZEUGMANN]

new video hell yeah

[@BamThwok76]

fun game.

[@douglaslegvold9215]

Hey John, 5:40 why not Bxe2 with threat of Qf2+? I’m only 2000 USCF, what’s wrong with this idea?

[@izzya8132]

Nothing is wrong with it, it's the best move. He notices it later in the analysis, around 17:10

[@SunbeamSmiles]

Aman didn't draw but lost that Englund Queensac game against GM Zierk.

[@999-t3t8b]

I knew the youtube persona was a farce!

[@renanfariamunizandrade4623]

And about the games on ICC? 🥺

[@blahtoausername]

Hi John, did you stop doing banter blitz on chess24?

[@threethrushes]

Those who are about to die, we salute you!

[@Orion-zq8jf]

he should have scked on e6 and just hope to get queen in

[@SportychickXO]

I try an emulate JB's playing style, but i will not be playing the englund.

[@JaysCigar]

John plays a poor opening on purpose. We mere mortals would be punished. His advantage was -3.4 after ten pawns moves. He wins comfortably. Wow. Just wow...

[@fakereality5204]

Opponent played like trash

[@GIR177]

Was John drinking this stream? Haha

[@statchessmd4785]

First!! Thank you for the excellent content John!

[@nucklechutz9933]

I named this.

[@nucklechutz9933]

Thanks John, for taking my suggestion, you're my first chess teacher. Much love, keep up the great work.

[@nklristic]

The best game of all time. :D

[@ネーブルオレンジ-p7i]

John he looks, like as homie guy who should be proud of going down deep into another' guyses hole as deep as he can.

[@abrotherinchrist]

Who says there's no comedy in Chess?

[@RobbiePfunder]

lol good stuff

[@rbr4784]

Huge

[@StephenAntKneeBk5]

John is getting to be a good player, but he still makes too many pawn moves in the opening. ;-)

[@muni1muni148]

Your opponent 900 0 elo

[@DejonghMaarten]

who says chess can't be funny lmao

[@ramsdinho]

Wtf John... did you just invent an irrefutable gambit? You just broke chess

[@dakotaschwurtzwaw]

hi JOHN, I sent a lot of messages to you, my schedule that I'm in this country I can't keep up with your videos. please, you will be able to see when the next game of chess will be. Thank you so much.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🧕🏻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻