You may have been using Chessable and wondered, “Who’s this John guy telling me to study every day in the corner of my screen?” Well, it’s none other than Chessable co-founder and International Master John Bartholomew!
John was a force in the chess world long before Chessable, however. Growing up in the American state of Minnesota, it was clear he was going to be a success from a young age. In 2002, he won the American High School Chess Championship. Just four years later, he became an International Master.
Though studying business and briefly law, John knew he was destined to stick with chess as a career. His tournament successes continued to pile up, including the achievement of two grandmaster norms, but he found even more success in another area: teaching.
In 2014, John launched his YouTube channel, home to hundreds of videos on chess education and improvement. He covers everything from common openings and endgames to live streams of his own games where explains his thought processes. His down-to-earth and practical teaching style has connected with thousands of fans, and his channel remains one of the most popular chess channels on the platform.
And in 2015, his second baby was born: Chessable. On a mission to help chess students around the world improve their chess as effectively and efficiently as possible, IM Bartholomew co-founded Chessable with CEO David Kramaley, and in 2016, they launched the most innovative chess education software the world has ever seen.
You’ll find plenty of his own original courses on the site: must-know endgames, instructive historical games, and his personal favorites, courses on his signature Scandinavian Defense (#TeamScandi 😉). Be sure to check out one of his courses below and experience his superb teaching abilities for yourself:
