Timing e4-e5 against the Pirc Defense | Climbing the Rating Ladder vs. 1965

[@PerceivedREALITY999]

Always good to see a John Bartholomew upload. This is my favorite chess channel. Mostly because of your great personality.

[@chullupa]

Bartholomew is my favorite

[@vincerafaelcastro5778]

I attribute the majority of my chess improvement to JB 😊

[@goldenlion3184]

Brains AND Personality!

[@carl8318]

My answer is ALWAYS, yes it's worth posting. Especially for those of us who are great at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. You always tell us things we should keep in mind, even in dominating positions. And as I'm typing this you just mentioned danger levels, haha. 😂

[@jaydub2971]

Glad you posted. As a Pirc player, learning what the traps are against me is valuable.

[@Suho1004]

Thanks for posting this, John! I've never seen a video of yours where I _haven't_ learned something. Glad your voice feels OK. You sounded good today.

[@guillaumecornu9919]

Sorry to hear about your voice condition John. I've probably watched over 80% of your KZbin content and I am still loving it greatly. Thanks for the good vibes and for having given me so many keys to improve my chess and understand the game to a much greater extend. I hope it stays a pleasure for you too for ever and I still get those notifications of your new videos coming up. KZbin is the only way for me to really follow your work as I am not a Twitch user. Big Love mister John and thanks again for everything

[@noahjames4606]

Thanks for posting! Honestly think I get more out of how to punish/avoid mistakes at my level then seeing 80 moves of high level chess.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

My pleasure - thank you for watching

[@preeve4061]

Great to see you rolling along with these fabulous videos, highlight of my afternoon. Cheers John.

[@arnoldpalmer-q5s]

Yes please John, always post it! Never too short, never too dull, all of this content, including awry moves by your opponent or capitalizing on blunders is useful! Awesome stuff as always!

[@hansgruber9093]

Another great video John, thanks. And to reiterate what others are saying; yes it's always worth posting, even these one-sided games. It was really instructive to see how quickly a "quiet" opening can go wrong for your opponent, even with an seemingly innocuous move like Nd7.

[@Jordan-lj4gj]

John, thanks for taking the time to upload these and providing your analysis! I love having your old episodes playing in the background because your voice is like warm milk!

[@monkeyman8671]

John has finally been putting up more content especially the climbing the rating ladder, i’m happy 😊

[@ID123Test]

Hope you fully recover. Would love to see more copious content from you especially climbing the ratings ladder. Nice tactic in this game. Always struggle with when to play e5 in such positions.

[@robertgelblum5154]

Good to have you back, John. We are so lucky to have you as a chess content provider!

[@salemtv5808]

This was super instructive thank you soooo much i learn tons from this series , specially the process of assessing candidate moves… hope you’re recovering, your voice sounds much better!

[@Hailmich10]

Very instructive John and clearly explained! The distinction you made between the Pirc and KI depending on whether White has a pawn on C4 is interesting also. Until the video, I was confused as White whether I was playing against the KI or Pirc.

[@DreamyJives]

I just used this e6 idea in one of my games in an Alapin Sicilian with great effect! Thanks, John.

[@knishofdeath]

Always love a Bartholomew content drop. Hope your vocal issues are recovering quickly. Much love and appreciation from Seattle.

[@TheRampax]

This was very instructive, thanks John. I play the Pirc a lot, and that ill fated night move does indeed feel quite intuitive (to me). What I don't like about the Pirc, is when it goes wrong, it gets bad very fast!

[@TomasWildViking]

Good luck on the road to recovery my friend. Happy to see you back in the saddle.

[@vladshch]

Thanks John! Your explanations are really easy to follow and I sense that I have an easier time remembering them than other content I watch.

[@rwanderful]

Thx John, loving the climbing the Rating ladder videos

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Much appreciated, Bob!

[@zacharygordge5291]

You're the man John! Thank you for the videos.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Thanks for watching, Zachary!

[@docfrayon]

Get well soon buddy ! Oh and if you have loyal subscribers it's not luck... it's excellent content and an endearing personality :)

[@logannday]

Hi John, I suffer from the MTD. For me, the best thing I ever did for it was to stop drinking coffee. I know that’s a painful sacrifice to make, but it’s by far what has helped me the most. Thought I’d throw it out there, all the best to you and I hope you recover soon. Keep up the great work

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Hey Logan, thanks for your feedback! That's very interesting! Do you know why cutting out coffee was so effective for you?

[@logannday]

@@JohnBartholomewChess I think it has to do with acid reflux caused by drinking coffee for me. It could also contribute that being over caffeinated sometimes increases my anxiety levels, which can manifest in holding a lot of physical tension

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

@Logan Definitely hear you on the anxiety front. My doc said it's highly doubtful my condition is reflux related, but the coffee connection is one I might need to eliminate. Appreciate you relaying your experience - hope you're doing better these days

[@nosystem1098]

So glad you are back, JB.

[@spencergreenwaldt6783]

Always learn something from your videos. Great content as usual - thanks John!

[@dennismays5692]

Definitely worth posting. Great content!

[@peter_zamunda]

Yay! Back to back days. Love this stuff John. Time to get my lunch early.

[@ctrl-alt-del0]

Great instructive video as always. Thanks for uploading.

[@samking7185]

Always a great day when there’s a new JB video!

[@trapperjohn7571]

And here we see a good example of why it's so important to control the center

[@averagebro413]

Very good video, it just shows how aware masters are, i would definitely push e pawn at the wrong moment 😀 btw i enjoy 10 minute videos more, sometimes i am scared to watch full 1 hour video XD

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Appreciate the feedback! My videos tend to be long, so it's a good reminder that shorter videos are still most popular and can be useful.

[@tzd1310]

Always fun to watch John administer a spanking on the chess board. Looking forward to the next one!

[@robvas]

Thanks for the videos John, hope you get better!

[@kevinfromelizabethtowncoll4006]

Thank you for another good example of how to play chess.

[@SevenTwo7ven]

Hey John, sick video as always. You should definitely try to record some content at the end of the month in Charlotte! I wish I could make it there but I would love to see the games and the whole weekend!

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Thanks, Drew - looking forward to seeing you again in Charlotte!

[@samtugendhaft2678]

This e5 e6 idea is super thematic in the Pirc. Shows up in many lines in the Austrian Attack as well.

[@emregeylani]

I agree that the difference between KID and Pirc is how white reacts. My coach used to say that you can try to force your opponent to play Pirc instead of KID, thus making them uncomfortable (hopefully :)

[@danjeory3659]

The computer often recommends these e5 pushes in such positions when I've quickly reviewed a game. Now I know why!

[@kathleenc1286]

Seeing this just made my day!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@Siderite]

The Pirc! I've tried a little a few weeks ago. I liked it, but it was also very slow and I ... didn't get it, really. But it felt interesting.

[@gabgab_a]

Lets goooo! John posted!!!!

[@JohnPaulCauchi]

I think the biggest takeaway from games like this are "1900s aren't that good". This sentiment was something my old coach used to say. The rating didn't matter, always 200-400 above me. When i was 1200, he'd show me 1500 games and say "see, they're not that good". When i was 1700, he'd show me 2000 games "see, they aren't that good". Even relatively strong players like AldusD completely blunders a game away in less than 10 moves, hanging multiple pieces with 1 or 2 move tactics. Not to discredit stronger players, but improvement is so close.

[@AlanTwoRings]

Chess is easy when you know the right moves to play!

[@rreyv]

LOL at quiet Pirc. Wonder What the loud Perc system looks like

[@jeremyhuffman101]

Two points of contact! Idea has really stuck and I see accurate pawn breaks much more quickly.

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Happy to hear!

[@3RAXFTW]

Analysis gang represent

[@Jaylooker]

In Pirc Defense taking the pawn on e5 when it hits the knight on f6 and pawn on d6 usually isn’t good for black unless there is a tactical reason to do so. Keeping the tension allows black to pressure white center.

[@kurtozan251]

Informative!

[@SnazzyTaylor]

Hi John, how do you decide who you play for the rating ladder challenges? For example, as an 1850-1950 rated rapid player would I have to just run into you in the pool?

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Hi Nick! Yes, I just scan the open challenges and select by rating and time control when possible

[@jeroenw9853]

White moves first, but Black decides the opening. Except for the Pirc and KID apparently 😅

[@JohnBartholomewChess]

Strange, right? :)

[@boceksiadam]

e4-e5 advance somehow catches the pirc players off guard every single time. Pirc players, may I ask why?

[@lyingcat9022]

He probably should have sacked his Knight for f2 and cut his losses. Continuing to play into your tactic just cost even more material.

[@ClassicPass_]

🎉 Tommy John Juanithan content!

[@terryleddra1973]

It's always a close shave with those Brazilians.

[@fredkaboom]

They take their whacks, but they keep at it.

[@chessguru900]

Long tome no see. Why don't you do these more frequently?

[@bbbrown3408]

how to lose in 5 moves

[@bbbrown3408]

how to lose in 6 moves