IM John Barthomew is a former scholastic national champion turned popular and longtime chess Youtuber and serial entrepreneur. His clear and friendly teaching style has garnered him over 200,000 subs and many devotees of the Scandinavian defense, the opening for which he is best known. In our conversation we discuss: 

• Five chess improvement conclusions that John drew from playing in (and documenting) The LiChess LoneWolf League 

• The challenges and rewards of helping to build Chessiverse.  Chessiverse offers over 600 “human-like” bots to play against, and is also the site where you can find John’s new, Comprehensive Scandinavian course. 

• Lastly, John told a few memorable stories about his good friend GM Daniel Naroditsky that reflect Daniel’s unusual talents. 

It is always enjoyable talking chess with John, and there are many nuggets to be gleaned from this conversation. 

0:00- Thanks to our sponsor, Chessable.com! If you sign up for Chessable Pro in order to unlock discounts and additional features, be sure to use the following link:

https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro

And you can check out their new offerings here:

https://www.chessable.com/courses/all/new/

00:00 Intro  and Guest Introduction

02:32 John’s chess improvement lessons learned from the LiChess Lone Wolf League

https://lichess.org/@/Fins/blog/what-i-learned-from-playing-lonewolf-league-season-37/19yaMKfW

Here is John’s Lone Wolf game recap playlist-

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl9uuRYQ-6MCYu9m5ji2tJgIoU7JMHkD9&si=Lg1RvP2PhmX2M68Q

05:41 Self-Talk and Thought Process in Chess

08:28 The Importance of Time Management

John’s Using the Clock as a Weapon Playlist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl9uuRYQ-6MD7go55KaMPOGKSHxXhWED_&si=e34rgZ05auwzOauQ

11:28 The Importance of Opening Variety

14:07 The Value of Longer Time Controls

17:01 Introduction to John’s new venture-  Chessiverse

19:50 Patreon mailbag questions: 

How does Chessiverse compare to other online products? What ratings is it best suited for?

22:50 Comparing Chessiverse to Other Platforms

25:45 Chessiverse's Business Model and Future Plans

27:03 The Subscription Model and Course Creation

27:40 The Depth of Course Development

29:29 Analyzing the Scandinavian Opening

32:15 The Evolution of Scandinavian Theory

Mentioned:

Ponomariov-Papaioannou 2003

https://lichess.org/q55Y75PQ#15

34:52 Navigating Course Design Challenges

37:43 Balancing Comprehensiveness and Usability

39:18 Feedback and Future Plans for Chessiverse

40:34 The Vision for Chessiverse and Bot Experience

42:04 John’s memories of GM Daniel Naroditsky

Mentioned: John’s tribute- 

https://youtu.be/kclevjiPK5I?si=7CO6ydPqkyFNKBjy

47:56 Honoring Daniel's Legacy through Fundraising

https://givebutter.com/naroditsky

52:00- 

Thanks to John for rejoining! Here are links to keep up with him:

Newsletter:

https://johnbartholomewchess.com/the-chess-mindset-newsletter-im-john-bartholomew/

Course- 

https://chessiverse.com/courses/scandi?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=scandi_search_tier1_purchase&utm_term=chess%20courses&utm_content=185814884617_782203235972_c&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=23214933240&utm_term=chess%20courses&utm_content=782203235972&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23214933240&gbraid=0AAAAABc5PsgmfRvqVuvKClF-9oZLSp0mn&gclid=Cj0KCQiAoZDJBhC0ARIsAERP-F_lAVpIoPksVCsZ5LG7GydpV4Wi8KIL4HMSbf_V_ZGei2837lHT57gaAu9fEALw_wcB

Twitter/X:

https://x.com/fins0905?lang=en

55:00- If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess via Patreon, you can do so here:

https://www.patreon.com/c/perpetualchess

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices