FACE THE MASTER. John Bartholomew, pictured, is – literally – an international chess master. Chippewa Valley players have the opportunity to duke it out with him on Feb. 22 at the downtown Eau Claire public library. (Submitted photos)

Anyone who’s searched YouTube for tips to crush their uncle at chess will likely recognize International Master (IM) John Bartholomew, who has been creating educational chess videos for his (now almost 200,000) YouTube subscribers since before it was cool.

On Saturday, Feb. 22, the globally-known Twin Cities native will venture to Eau Claire for the first time, inviting local chess enthusiasts to gang up on him in a simultaneous exhibition. He'll play dozens of Chippewa Vallians at once in the spacious new Riverview Room on the third floor of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library as part of the “simul” event.

The free public event is open to all ages. A Q&A will start at 1:30pm, followed by the simul from 2-5pm. There will be space for 28 boards, and spots may open up as players drop out.

“The social aspects of chess are even more important than the competitive dimensions of the game, and events like this are truly memorable for everyone involved.”

John Bartholomew

“Anyone interested should 100% come – there will be plenty of time to interact with me and other players,” John said.

Beyond his YouTube channel (@JohnBartholomewChess), John co-founded Chessable.com, an e-learning platform which he sold to PlayMagnus in 2019. In recent years, John has participated in streaming games and online tournaments like Chess.com’s Titled Tuesday or Lichess’s Bullet Arenas through his Twitch channel.

“The online chess landscape has certainly broadened and gone mainstream in the past decade. The Queen's Gambit (on Netflix) was a turning point for the visibility of the game, and the pandemic era also gave rise to chess influencers like Hikaru Nakamura, Levy Rozman (@GothamChess), the Botez sisters, and Anna Cramling to name a few,” John said.

“Overall, the increased exposure chess has received has been a very good thing, and anyone working in chess or aspiring to learn/dig deeper into the game has benefited greatly in the past several years.”

John does these “simul” events only once or twice a year. After the Eau Claire event, he’ll participate in one at Macalester College in St. Paul on March 1 – at a Chesswrestling event. “Yes. Chesswrestling,” John confirmed.

The local event is made possible by Tom Beuning and the Eau Claire Chess Club. “Tom told me about a simul game he played against former World Champion Tigran Petrosian in 1982, and I think it’s amazing he’s sponsoring a similar event in 2025 for the community,” John said.

Learn more about John at johnbartholomewchess.com. To get involved in the Chippewa Valley chess scene hit up the Eau Claire Chess Club Facebook group or visit one of their regular gatherings (See event calendar listing). To reserve a board for the simultaneous exhibition match, email eauclairechess@gmail.com as soon as possible to get a spot.