Running into DEEP Alapin Sicilian Prep | Climbing the Rating Ladder vs. 2274
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- čas přidán 10. 10. 2023
- In this continuation of the "Climbing the Rating Ladder" series I take on players of various ratings levels while pointing out typical mistakes and spots for improvement along the way (possibly my own!? :)). Here I commentate a 10+5 game against a player rated 2274 on Chess.com. The Alapin Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.c3) is a phenomenal practical weapon I've often played and recommended on this channel, and here I face it from the other side of the board. I opt for a principled line in the 2...Nf6 variation whereby Black angles for a quick ...Nd5-b4 in search of a favorable queen trade, but this results in my opponent establishing a strong bishop on c4. After some though, I dare my opponent to take a pawn on b7, reckoning that I have counterplay based on my knight trapping the enemy rook in the corner. To my surprise, White is unfazed by this development, and continues blitzing moves off!
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This Chess_champion578 got banned for cheating
Classic
For real?
That's very strange. I don't think he was cheating in this game, otherwise why would he settle for a draw that early? A lot of the moves he played looked normal for a tactical/aggressive type of player...😮 very unfortunate if he was indeed cheating
Hey john this is guys
Used to watch you when I was 15/16 and you were my favourite chess CZcamsr/player. I’m now 21, and you’re still my favourite player. You’re the goat for real ❤
Hi John, I wanted to express my heartfelt gratitude for your incredible work in the world of chess. Your dedication and passion have been a guiding light for me, inspiring my journey into the fascinating realm of chess. Your teachings have been invaluable, and your impact immeasurable. Thank you for being a true hero, whose influence reaches far beyond the chessboard.
you used chatgpt for this don’t lie
Hey John, I am an e6 sicilian player who plays lines similar to this as black all the time. In my quest to not give my opponents easy draws as black, I have found that these e6 alapins feel like white always has a comfortable edge, and can play any number of moves to be okay, while black really has to search to equalize, so I avoid this I play 4. Nc6, which you mentioned in your vvideo. My general goal is when playing against alapins is to either play d6 without e6 with my knight on d5, or if my opponents try the delayed alapin (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3) to play d5, which I found to be more challenging as black.
It is the recommendation of the FM Kamil Plichta in his Anti-anti sicilians course on Chessable!
I've played both sides of the Alapin Sicilian since I was a junior, so the opening was of double interest to me. I've been in similar lines to the game but not precisely the game continuation. I thought that John's ...Bd7 was a gutsy but risky attempt to unbalance the position, but the more I looked at it, the more I liked it for White. John seemed to realize that he was headed for a difficult, pawn down position, so he burned up way too much time trying to find a way out. Finally, John indeed found himself a pawn down and with a horrible time deficit: more than 8 minutes for White against more than 1 minute for John. True, there were opposite coloured B's on the board, but still with R's and N's onboard, I felt that White could torture Black forever. (I'm sure that Magnus Carlsen or Karpov in his prime would have made mince meat of even elite GM opposition as Black in such a position.) But then John's opponent (perhaps in awe of his famous and very high-rated opponent) puzzlingly decided to immediately swap down both N's and R's, leaving a pawn down, pure opposite coloured B ending, where John's P deficit was zero obstacle to an easy, effortless draw.
Super educational to see you in a tough spot and trying to work your way through it. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for another vid in the series. Always enjoy your content...cheers!
16:31 Lol John. Thanks as always for the video. You’re the GOAT.
Another instructive erudite video from John. Really appreciate it.
Tough game from the middle on, very kind opponent lol I like your flashlight analogy.. made me think of a faded orange 80's ultra dim flashlight, that i need to smack every once in awhile to get to work..
great video as always John.
Glad you enjoyed it
Hi John! Just following up! I’ve discovered your courses on Chessable! They are truly very instructive and enjoyable! It’s a treat to go through your catalog of games here on the channel as well. I’m a bit too old and under-skilled to take on lessons I fear, but maybe one day if I can improve my rating enough! Thanks for all of the help man! P.S. Glad to hear you’re gearing up for a new chapter on this platform, I look forward to seeing what’s in store! Best wishes and Happy Thanksgiving!
Lovely to hear! Check out my free 1.d4 course if you're looking for a solid opening rep for White :) Thanks for your interest - good luck with your chess improvement, and Happy Thanksgiving to you as well!
Lines like the one played in the game is why I prefer 4...Nc6 in the Alapin. It just seems like Black's play is a lot more active, and can give White a few more problems. With 4...e6 Black is almost saying they're willing to accept a passive position and let white do what they want. Especially since the early ...e6 blocks in the LSB.
Thank you for another instructive game. This was a great lesson about the psychological aspect of chess. Chess is a mental game.
You found yourself in a worse position and you maintained equanimity (patience, focus, calmness).
It's important to maintain a balanced mind. "Power of Acceptance", the moment is as it is. This philosophy can be applied to everyday life.
"A warrior must subdue himself before he can subdue his enemies. Clear eyes see accurately. The quiet mind thinks calmly. The steady hand strikes decisively.
Mad passion flares brightly and quickly burns itself out. Stoke the steady hand of discipline, wisdom and will." ~ Sun Tzu
Very funny position for black to have knights on a1 and a8.
Thanks for the video, John :)
Nice game thanks, John. I was missing your arrows a little bit in which you show us the lines you are contemplating to play. :)
Return of the standing desk ?
Just played (and lost) an Alapin last bight against a prodigious 1900 so im looking forward to the analysis
White was definitely well prepared in the opening, very impressive! Honestly i think if they didn't misevaluated the position when John's knight landed on d5, they would have won the game. They didn't think about opposite colored bishop endgame at all because they were a pawn up, so they just noticed blacks knight was on an outpost square on d5 and came to the conclusion to just trade it off asap even tho the knight wasn't really threatening anything at the moment. Since trades should be good when you're up material right? It is so easy to make short sided decisions, especially when you think you're already winning.
Also holy smokes - i imagine it was unintentional but John has quite the youtuber-react-face in the thumbnail, hahaha
Luckily for me, the Alapin doesn't work against the Scandi!! One more reason the Scandi is the best answer to e4. That being said, It is really instructional to see you work through a difficult position and consider the alternatives. Thanks for a great game!
Excellent point!! :D Scandi is really useful for limiting deviations, haha.
Hi John! Are you in anyway related to John Bartholomew, the British cartographer/geographer? I was just curious.
Not sure what the like meant. Is it a yes? Or did you take my comment in humour?
Hey John, do you think you’d ever consider doing a chessable course on more general strategy and principles to accompany your old fundamentals series? I’d be first in line to buy that!
Hi John, I am missing new games on your 'climbing the rating ladder' series on youtube terribly!!
Just wondering if you are planning on posting on youtube in the near future?
I think your content in this series is the most helpful of any streamer.
I play this variation of the Alapin as black with e6. But instead of retreating the knight from d5, I'll try and keep the light square long diagonal open and play Be7, O-O, b6, Bb7, etc
Hey hey hikaru said ur the best for learning so here i am!
Appreciate you checking out my channel!
Hikaru is definitely right, JB explains his decision making process and strategy, also opponents best moves and mistakes in a way low rated players like myself understands, also I should mention the decency and professionalism are top level, no jokes or side irrelevant chitchat… every video is really a very valuable and instructive coaching session! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.. cheers
"not going to play a scandi" *clicks thumb down* ... jk great stuff as always, thanks
My girlfriend went into a laughing fit at ‘it’s a drah, most certainly a drah’
Saw Dave live.. ❤❤❤❤❤
Hello John,
I need advice on the best way to improve in chess. What is the best way to get a hold of you?
Please let me know.
Emmanuel
Hey John, are you using a standing desk for your videos and do you suggest one for making youtube videos?
I like it. Takes 1-2 weeks to get used to it, but it's well worth it, imo - really keeps you limber. I try to rotate 30 minutes standing/30 minutes, though I can stand for more than an hour no problem now (as almost happens in this video, haha).
That knight on e1 was truly the MC Hammer knight
Johns MIA, send out the search party! Check all the pubs in the surrounding areas that have chessboard embedded tables 😆
😅😅 Present!
I've been grinding work on my Scandi course recently, but I'll be making a return soon. Good looking out - cheers!
@@JohnBartholomewChess Oh nice, good to hear! Team Scandi, cancel search party 😄
hi, i got a question. I own the 100 endgames you must know, but not the first version, i got the woorkbook version. Do I need both or is the woorkbook version enough?
Hello! I actually don't own the workbook myself, sorry.
John please answer the comment 🙏🙏 when to plan according to pawn structure and when to plan according to the Imbalances
The pawn structure is an imbalance. So you can do both simultaneously, technically
Depends on your style. Initiative focused attacking players use pawns to open up the lines for the piece play. Isolated Queen Pawn, Open Center, Doubled Pawns do offer more lines and diagonals for the attack, which your heavy pieces and bishops require.
In closed positions and semi-closed or controlled center positions, plans start to matter more than concrete calculation play. The more pieces come off the board, the more static elements of position like pawn structure and material start to matter.
As an active attacking player those weaknesses don't bother you much, because if you gonna lose the pieces (unless trading off key defenders) or gonna be restricted, you will lose anyway. If there is jo way to exploit your weak pawns or squares, then they aren't weaknesses.
The main points: when you have space advantage, initiative, open positions, attacking enemy king pawns worth almost nothing since you are trying to win by checkmate or convert dynamic advantage into static one if your opponent defends good. Once you achieve the static advantages, it's time yo simplify the game by trading down the pieces to score that W, or keep your pieces if its possible to attack weaknesses that opp can't defend easily. Since you are newish, just go to the endgame to score the easy W.
Such an odd game. Plays it laser fast like he’s reading from a book. Up a pawn with 9 minutes on the clock when you have only 1 minute. Then proceeds to casually throws it all away like he has no understanding of the position.
Hey John, where are you? Long time now new video ;)
Hope you are well❤.
Thank you for thinking of me - I'm doing well! Spending a ton of time working on my Scandinavian course. I'll post an update soon.
Man, I miss your old JB illustration as your avatar ;(
Oh yeah? I'll see if I can work it into the channel/thumbnails in the future 😀
Hey John, just checking on you, it’s been a while …hope all well
Hey, thank you for checking in! My voice has been a little sketchy lately, so I haven't been uploading. Hope to be back soon, though 👍 Appreciate your interest and support.
@@JohnBartholomewChess i’m very sorry your voice still hurting..glad to hear from you tyt&tc
I have no experience whatsoever in this line, but I gotta say that I find quite surprising that black wins that often: it looks so cramped/hard to play, at a first glance.
Yup, it does! I think that hints at Black, on average, being higher-rated in this line and willing to fight from such positions.
Are you going to get fun thumbnails like hikaru or Gotham chess?
I've recently worked with someone to design the thumbnails for major series. They fit my vibe, and I think you'll like them!
Sup john... Ur fans are waiting
Does John look similar to the Gotham_Chess channel guy.
Few difference: No glasses, brown not black hair, and from Minnesota not new York
I’m very disappointed as to how white handled the endgame. Playing for a draw as white is hardly a good mindset to have no matter the opponent unless specific situations apply.
I understand that at that level there are standards but i would beat you on the clock .because i am 1900 playing a máster .yes ill take a dirty win.i love your content jonh i learn a lot just by watching you.
Is John winding down his channel? It's so unfortunate we lost Schrantz and now it looks like John is losing interest as well. I really thought Schrantz was joking but looks like he's gone for good.
I'm still here, of course. You shouldn't be alarmed if I take a break for a month after 8 years of posting to CZcams :) More long-term plans and videos in the works!
@@JohnBartholomewChess True! True!
@@walterbrownstone8017 Appreciate you thinking of me! 🙂
opponent played like an engine. I'd check for fairness
They didnt play like an engine. They played like a book.
Suspicious game
I hate to agree. But I agree. The speed is what made it questionable to me. There were some tough decisions made with not much thought.
@@drewgarth1530 There are players who have very deep opeming undefstanding, but bad end game skills. The player obviously was afraid of the end game because they offered a draw with more time on the clock. They could have CM 2200 level opening ideas, but 1800 end game level. There has to be more evidence to make accusations.
I thought the opponent played the endgame pretty badly for a 2200. An engine would've beaten John easily after that opening battle.
nice drawish game
Why u not playing in Im not a Gm
He did play and crush it. He is too strong. It would not be fair for the other players. I'm not saying this to be polite.
@@juhonieminen4219 o i see..it make sense..thanks for the reply
Sorry to be that guy, but it’s ‘playing ambitiousLY’ 🤣🙏 c’mon John! You’re better than that! (You did say it was late, soooo…) 🤷🏻♂️🙏