The Internet Chess Club (ICC) is the platform where I played tens of thousands of games as an up-and-coming player in the late ’90s and early ’00s, as well as the place I recorded my first videos for this channel! These days, browser-based sites like Chess.com and lichess are far more popular, but ICC remains a pleasant place to play. Here I face an Italian International Master in a King’s Indian Attack system I’m quite familar with.
[Event “ICC 5 0”]
[Site “Internet Chess Club”]
[Date “2020.01.05”]
[Round “-“]
[White “Kirlian”]
[Black “Fins”]
[WhiteElo “2313”]
[BlackElo “2490”]
[Opening “Réti: King’s Indian attack (Barcza system)”]
[ECO “A07”]
[NIC “QP.09”]
[Time “22:34:14”]
[TimeControl “300+0”]
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. O-O Nd7 5. d3 e5 6. Nbd2 Ngf6 7. h3 Bh5 8.
e4 dxe4 9. dxe4 Be7 10. Nc4 Qc7 11. Qe1 O-O 12. Nh4 Rfe8 13. a4 b5 14. axb5 cxb5 15. Ne3 a6 16. Nhf5 Bf8 17. c3 Nc5 18. Nd5 Nxd5 19. exd5 e4 20. Bf4 Qd7 21. g4 Bg6 22. Qe3 Bxf5 23. gxf5 Qxf5 24. Bg3 Qxd5 25. Rfd1 Qc6 26. b4 Na4 27. Rac1 f5 28. c4 Nb2 29. cxb5 Nxd1 30. Qb3+ Qe6 31. Qxd1 axb5 32. Bf1 Red8 33. Qh5 Qg6 34. Qxg6 hxg6 35. Bxb5 Bxb4 36. h4 Rac8 37. Rb1 Bd6 38. Ba6 Rb8 39. Bc4+ Kh7 40. Ra1 Bxg3 41. fxg3 Rb2 42. Bf1 Rc8 43. Re1 Rc3
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Great to see John back.
Hey from Finland! It’s always nice to wake up to a new chess video! Thanks for the great content!
I was playing on ICC when it was still ICS and free back in the early 90's. Spent way too much time playing chess and not enough going to my classes. 😀
Will you do an analysis of any of the world blitz championship games?
Brilliant. Still the cleanest interface for me. Such a shame the more laggy browser-based sites took over.
Happy new year 🎆 john
Hey I have been missing you for a long time….your channel is one of the best channel for learning chess…
Analysis would be way better with the engine turned off. Otherwise good video
Hello from India.
THE MAN IS BACK
hey i downloaded lichess yesterday and havent stopped since, except for sleep, any good reccomendations on where to start with reading?
Whats the opening white uses?
Wb
It doesn't look like the ICC has improved at all since the early 2000s.
Carlo D'Amore: what a name! :p Charles of love ^^
I am not familiar with the opening you played here as black. What is it called?
My chess teacher primarily uses ICC 🙂 I login to it for every lesson with her. I agree that there aren't too many people on it. Finding a game can take some time. I also wish they would update the interface. Some of the features are pretty unintuitive.
Also, I feel like the 90's called and wants their interface back.
"I don't wanna start thinking too much, as that could get me in trouble" – John Bartholomew 2020
This feels like a throwback to 2015!! But a good one
I love the videos! So much nostalgia! But I'm sure we miss the lichess blitz and bullet tournaments as well as the weekly/bi-weekly YouTube livestreams…
Welcome back John, and congratulations on 100k subscribers!
Love your videos, very insightful and you're so calm as well. Kudos!
Finally! Hope you're doing well John
Great with more videos. Bought ur london system course and it is great.
Thanks for the nice video! Have a great day!
If you're a day one fan of John the great, this video format sparks some deep nostalgia.
I miss the ICC days…very nostalgic video. Thanks John!
ICC was the go to site in the early years of internet chess. They just haven’t done very much differently. Chess.com just kept improving and adding more . I tried to go back to ICC for nostalgia sake and it hard to get a game.
Hey, John, it’s a guy. I’ve been watching your videos for about a year now, and you’ve helped me take my game from 790 to 1223! I even beat a 1900 player in 3|2 blitz today (it will never happen again, of course). Thanks so much for everything you give us through your channel!
excellent video, excellent layout, well done and I'm glad you're making videos again.
ICC…. that's not a name i thought i'd ever hear again
John can you please do a speedrun? Your videos are so instructive and it would be helpful for my chess hopefully.
Hey john!
Who else puts John on before bed nightly to drift to sleep to?
Happy New Year Minnesota Fins
Nice to see you Again John! Have a good year and keep going. I'd love to see your new videos on "Clock as a weapon" and "Climbing the rating ladder". Cheers from Spain 😉
Hey John, if possible could you put the sounds of ICC, otherwise great video!
Kirlian is an amazing guy, I used to watch him during some free months I got on icc, and I was surprised how often he played on icc every day, for hours. So it seems he's still doing that nowadays! Amazing, he must be one of the the players with the most games played ever.
jon, wen u planning on getting yourgm title,u seem to at that level already and a strong gm, i think
John, how do u feel now that Magnus has started playing the Scandinavian all over the place considering u were basically the one to bring it back to the mainstream?
Hey I have a chess idea for you, it’s a challenge of sorts. The idea sounds complicated but it may be simple. So you find another YouTuber or streamer who does chess videos and you chat with him through team speak or however you choose to do it. The challenge is that you tell your opponent what move he is to do or what piece he is to move, and he is to tell you what move you are to do. Basically you say a piece and they have to move it to a spot of your choosing or if you don’t tell him a specific square than he gets to choose where he puts it, and the goal is to win based off the moves you have him play, there is a bit of strategy to this too. Maybe you decide to make him move his queen out or something and sacrifice it, well he might decide to leave his queen alone and tell you to move a different piece so while the queen is still in danger. So basically if you got the white pieces you control your opponents pieces and your opponent controls your pieces.
Haven't played in a decade. You've re-inspired me.
Thanks John Bartholonewyear!
Has John mentioned why content has tapered down? He used to post weekly if not twice per week.
Which software are you using to play on chess.com without a browser like you are doing in the following video : https://youtu.be/I5o2d9slUCM ? Thanks for the reply.
Great content, John. Great seeing ICC!
What is your skincare routine???
Hi John, this is everyone
Good game! As usual 😁,….By the way, Does anyone know if this ICC client has a board setting feature?….I mean, if it can allow users to change the tiles color, like maybe into green or wooden style, or maybe even dark theme mode. …. I don't know, man, the board looks too bright in this video.
Was wondering if ICC was still around!!! Used to be the VERY BEST chess site, bar none.