podcast

Bots that PLAY LIKE HUMANS — Future of CHESS TRAINING? | John Bartholomew PODCAST

05.02.2026
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Check out the King's Gambit and other openings on Chessreps: https://www.chessreps.com/opening/kings-gambit

Today my guest is IM John Bartholomew — one of the original chess YouTubers, chess coach, and a former co-founder of Chessable. We talk about what chess YouTube was like back in 2014, the gap between IMs and GMs, and whether Levy aka GothamChess can still make the GM title. We also discuss how online courses changed the way people learn chess, plus John’s new project Chessiverse and what “human-like” training bots could mean for chess improvement. And of course, we nerd out about the Scandinavian Defense (one of John’s signature openings) and then finish with a blitz game. Don’t miss it!

Support me on Patreon: https://patreon.com/mustreader

My DISCORD server: https://discord.gg/bXZN36xb

My X: https://x.com/mustreader

My channel with podcast highlights: https://www.youtube.com/@CwMClips

My chess.com club: https://go.chess.com/MustreaderClub

Collabs: mazdrid@gmail.com

John's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JohnBartholomewChess

John's X: https://x.com/fins0905

John’s project — Chessiverse: https://chessiverse.com

Many thanks to my Patreon supporter: Sarterus

— Intro

— John: IM, educator, Chessable co-founder

— How Chessable started

— Was Magnus in the meetings?

— Chessable valuation?

— Chessiverse: best for beginners?

— Chessable vs Chessiverse: what’s different?

— Who is Chessiverse for?

— What “human-like bots” means

— The future of Chessiverse

Chess.com bots vs Chessiverse

— Chess YouTube in 2014

— Competition in chess content

— Competing with GothamChess?

— Did John ever chase GM?

— Can Levy (GothamChess) become GM?

— How John trains now

— Splitting time between projects

— Why the Scandi works

— Blitz vs John

— Scandinavian tips for beginners

— Blitz begins

Bots that PLAY LIKE HUMANS — Future of CHESS TRAINING? | John Bartholomew PODCAST

John Bartholomew

John Bartholomew podcast

John Bartholomew interview

IM John Bartholomew

chess training

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chess improvement

improvement in chess

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online chess courses

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Chessable

Chessable co founder

Chessiverse

Chessiverse bots

can GothamChess become GM

GothamChess GM

Levy Rozman

Scandinavian Defense

Scandinavian defence

how to play Scandinavian Defense

Scandinavian Defense tips

chess podcast

chess with mustreader

mustreader chess

mustreader

greg mustreader

cwm

My name is Greg Mustreader, I am a Candidate Master in chess, an entrepreneur and host of several podcasts.

On the Chess with Mustreader channel, I interview top chess players, play against chess AIs, analyze the most interesting chess games and combinations of today and of the past, as well as show you my path in chess and the way I work on my chess improvement (including recaps from the tournaments I play).

I live in Almaty, Kazakhstan and travel the world extensively (been to 50 countries). I'm 32 years old, I have a girlfriend, three dogs and four cats. I speak English, Russian, German, and a bit of French and Chinese.

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