Perpetual Chess Podcast EP 461- IM John Bartholomew on Chess Improvement Lessons, The Scandinavian Defense & His New Business Venture
Nov 25, 2025
IM John Bartholomew, a renowned chess YouTuber and co-founder of Chessable, shares invaluable insights on chess improvement drawn from his experiences in the LiChess Lone Wolf League. He emphasizes the importance of self-talk and time management in decision-making. John introduces Chessiverse, featuring over 600 human-like bots that aid practice and strategy development, and discusses his exhaustive effort in creating a comprehensive Scandinavian course. He also shares amusing anecdotes about his talented friend, GM Daniel Naroditsky, highlighting their unique camaraderie.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Structure Your Thought Process
- Use explicit self-talk to structure your thought process on every move and keep curiosity in your questions.
- Do a quick blunder check before you play to ground your decision and avoid impulsive errors.
Train Your Clock Like A Weapon
- Audit where you leak time and train with clock-focused exercises to build better time management.
- Practice Botvinnik-style sessions where you prioritize the clock over perfect calculation to simulate pressure.
Broaden Your Opening Arsenal
- Expand your opening repertoire rather than relying on a single narrow range as modern opponents exploit predictability.
- Start mixing openings seriously around the 1800+ level to gain practical surprise value.