Love how humble John is during the analysis. Even after learning that knight d to f5 was -1 for black he still was honest about probably playing it in game. I feel like seeing the eval many players' ego would kick in and say they'd have made "the right" move anyway had the position come to pass.
Mind-blowing. Even in this sub-variation of a sub-variation there is an absolute tonne of theory... Just shows what a crazy opening the Najdorf is. Shout out to Najdorfians.
Thanks for giving your viewers a lot of variety in your opening choices, John. Here you were playing one of the sharpest openings in chess: the Najdorf Sicilian with 6 Bg5. Of course, once your opponent played . . . Bxd5 instead of . . . exd5, White got attractive positional pluses without having to invest any material. In general, I would say that the open Sicilian lines for White must be objectively stronger and certainly more testing in practice than anti-Sicilian lines like the Alapin Variation. But there is also exponentially more complex theory to absorb and the constant need to stay abreast of new developments in the Open Sicilian. If one wants to devote all their free time to studying chess theory, then this definitely could yield dividends in your game results. But for a lot of us chess players with a life outside chess (even including many GMs, I believe), this price is just not worth it.
Fun fact, your opponent's name is (probably) a play on words with Harald Hardrada (famous viking king in the early 1000s) and pedrada meaning stoned in Portuguese. Great game!
GG to Herald, even tho the game didn't go to the endgame there was a lot of learn from. I knew the knight sac was a common theme in Sicilians but it's so scary to play it as white sometimes and vice versa when you see it coming from the black side you also need to know how to defend against it. This opening is just like a box of infinite tactics and details where everytime you play it, you witness and learn something new.
Nice one. I quit caffeine completely for a year, it's not so bad as long as you get lots of exercise. Sensitivity levels eventually return to normal and now 2 cups is a lot. Also, nice work in the center with the knights and pawns
I started playing the open Sicilian with white and the classical Sicilian with black when overhauling my whole repertoire. Win, lose, or draw I’m ecstatic to get these positions on the board
When John sacs on d5 in the Sicilian, he looks at his opponent and says "I'm gonna make you an offer you can't refuse". And puts a horse in their bed...
Hello John! Hope all is well. Thanks for the content. I still play the Khan as black based on your recommendation so I appreciate all the helpful insight. I’d like to see you play the Khan 😉👍🏻
I also gave up coffee recently. Been like 2-3 weeks no coffee and i have had no symptoms/withdrawal and i just feel good all around. I also been fasting. Trying to get closer to God.
You have to see all the threats white has to see the compensation. Queen was lined up to the king, bishop against the other bishop with a threat of overloading the queen and losing a piece... But as you saw, the computer finds a line to refute white dynamic play, and if things got quiet, white would be a piece down. Also for the second knight sac, dynamic play
As Pablo wrote below, the concrete calculations surrounding the Nc3-d5 decision were a major factor in this game. It's difficult to generalize about such sacrifices sometimes; it can really come down to whether it works or not.
No coffee, no queen trade, who is this guy? At least he still gets himself into time pressure, so there's still a chance it might be John.
lol
Love how humble John is during the analysis. Even after learning that knight d to f5 was -1 for black he still was honest about probably playing it in game. I feel like seeing the eval many players' ego would kick in and say they'd have made "the right" move anyway had the position come to pass.
Mind-blowing. Even in this sub-variation of a sub-variation there is an absolute tonne of theory... Just shows what a crazy opening the Najdorf is. Shout out to Najdorfians.
Thanks for giving your viewers a lot of variety in your opening choices, John. Here you were playing one of the sharpest openings in chess: the Najdorf Sicilian with 6 Bg5. Of course, once your opponent played . . . Bxd5 instead of . . . exd5, White got attractive positional pluses without having to invest any material. In general, I would say that the open Sicilian lines for White must be objectively stronger and certainly more testing in practice than anti-Sicilian lines like the Alapin Variation. But there is also exponentially more complex theory to absorb and the constant need to stay abreast of new developments in the Open Sicilian. If one wants to devote all their free time to studying chess theory, then this definitely could yield dividends in your game results. But for a lot of us chess players with a life outside chess (even including many GMs, I believe), this price is just not worth it.
Accurate summary of the difference between the Open Sicilian and other lines of the Sicilian, Robert! I completely agree :)
Fun fact, your opponent's name is (probably) a play on words with Harald Hardrada (famous viking king in the early 1000s) and pedrada meaning stoned in Portuguese. Great game!
Dropping the knowledge!! Love it
GG to Herald, even tho the game didn't go to the endgame there was a lot of learn from. I knew the knight sac was a common theme in Sicilians but it's so scary to play it as white sometimes and vice versa when you see it coming from the black side you also need to know how to defend against it. This opening is just like a box of infinite tactics and details where everytime you play it, you witness and learn something new.
Nice one. I quit caffeine completely for a year, it's not so bad as long as you get lots of exercise. Sensitivity levels eventually return to normal and now 2 cups is a lot.
Also, nice work in the center with the knights and pawns
Thanks John. You continue to produce quality content.
Well there goes my Friday afternoon kicking off to a great start!
Here’s how you know John is a professional. I would have titled this “Things get pretty hairy for a Brazilian.”
😂😂😂😂
I started playing the open Sicilian with white and the classical Sicilian with black when overhauling my whole repertoire. Win, lose, or draw I’m ecstatic to get these positions on the board
They tend to be pretty exciting, agreed!
When John sacs on d5 in the Sicilian, he looks at his opponent and says "I'm gonna make you an offer you can't refuse". And puts a horse in their bed...
😂
Hello John! Hope all is well. Thanks for the content. I still play the Khan as black based on your recommendation so I appreciate all the helpful insight. I’d like to see you play the Khan 😉👍🏻
Good to hear! I have lots of Kan games if you search my channel. Will play it more in the future.
@@JohnBartholomewChess also some classical sicilians please John :)
I also gave up coffee recently. Been like 2-3 weeks no coffee and i have had no symptoms/withdrawal and i just feel good all around. I also been fasting. Trying to get closer to God.
I played "Descending down the Rating Ladder" against Magnus Carlsen. It was a lot of fun :)
nice, thanks.
Thanks for watching!
Nd5 in the face
Marc would be proud
Why'd you cut out the caffeine?
Seeing if it helps reduce muscle tension; could assist in recovering from my voice issue.
Caffeine in excess is not healthy for you anyways. Good call!
@johnbartholomew how did you loose your knight at 14:20?
Do you mean what happens if Black captures it? I was intending ...dxe5 d6, opening the bishop up towards the rook on a8.
No more "Using the caffeine as a weapon"
Sadly, at least for the moment! 😅
I'm still waiting for John to play "Climbing the Rating Ladder" against AlphaZero :)
I can’t imagine going cold turkey on caffeine 😳
What's your daily intake? It's been far easier than I anticipated, though I'm sure everyone reacts differently.
@@JohnBartholomewChess normally 2 cups a day for me depending. But if I ever go a day without it all hell breaks loose 😂
I really like the 👌thumbnail👌
I honestly understood so little about this game... I really was not understanding the compensation that white has after any of the sacs
You have to see all the threats white has to see the compensation. Queen was lined up to the king, bishop against the other bishop with a threat of overloading the queen and losing a piece... But as you saw, the computer finds a line to refute white dynamic play, and if things got quiet, white would be a piece down.
Also for the second knight sac, dynamic play
As Pablo wrote below, the concrete calculations surrounding the Nc3-d5 decision were a major factor in this game. It's difficult to generalize about such sacrifices sometimes; it can really come down to whether it works or not.
Can I request you play b3? As I enjoy playing it but it’s not played much in speed runs
The withdrawals are coming. They sneak up on you once you think you're in the clear.
Man I hope not 😅😅