Lihong Tang NM

Hi Lihong!

You’ve been playing energetic, tactical chess and it’s paying off—your recent games show confident attacking wins. Below is a concise review of your strengths and a few targeted areas to polish so you can push beyond your current level (2464 (2022-12-23)).

What you’re doing well

• Opening choice & flexibility. Switching smoothly between the Alekhine, Caro-Kann and English gives you practical surprise value. You often steer the game into less-theoretical structures where your opponents go wrong early.
• Piece activity. Your bishops and knights reach aggressive posts quickly (…Nd4 in both your live wins is a good example). You rarely leave pieces undeveloped.
• Clock management. Even in 10 | 0 you keep a healthy time edge; it’s tough for lower-rated opponents to defend accurately when you’re faster and stronger.

Growth opportunities

• Converting large advantages flawlessly.
  In several older losses you reached winning positions but let them slip (e.g. vs Victor Plotkin, moves 18-30). Work on clean technique once material up:
  1. Simplify when ahead—exchange pieces, not pawns.
  2. Adopt a “no-risk” mindset: stop hunting fancy mates; win the endgame instead.
  Recommended drill: play “winning-practice” positions against the computer starting a rook up and try to checkmate without allowing counter-play.
• Endgame endurance.
  Two bullet-speed endgame defeats (Keures & Olivanja) reveal shaky technique in pawn endings. Focus on:
  • King activity—centralise sooner.
  • Counting tempo in pure pawn races (zugzwang skills, opposition, the “square” rule).
  Resource: rehearse classic king-and-pawn endings; use triangulation and opposition puzzles.
• Defence against the English/Réti.
  Most of your recent losses stem from 1 c4/1 Nf3 systems. Adopt a clear repertoire choice (…e5, …c6 or …g6) and study typical plans so you don’t improvise on move 10.
• Blunder prevention late in sessions.
  According to
  you drop games in the final hour of play. Consider shorter sessions or a quick tactics warm-down before logging off.

Illustrative clip

Your swift win over daydayupchess shows many good habits—rapid development, central pawn lever …d6-d5 and a direct king-hunt:

Next-step training plan

1. Week 1-2: Daily 20-minute endgame drill (pawns & minor pieces) + annotate one of your own wins, asking “could I have won more cleanly?”
2. Week 3: Build a 10-game opening database vs 1 c4 and play sparring games to test it.
3. Ongoing: Two tactics sets (rated >2400) per day; stop after first incorrect answer to stay fresh.

Stay motivated

Track your progress with

and celebrate small milestones—e.g. reaching +70% conversion in won positions. You’re already playing master-level chess; tightening these few screws can take you even higher.

Good luck and have fun at the board!