Coach Chesswick
Summary for Aleksander Kaczmarek
Nice run — your rating trend is strongly upward and your recent games show clear strengths: sharp tactical vision, good coordination in attacking positions, and a reliable opening toolkit (especially the Caro‑Kann and London setups). Below are concrete notes from your recent win/loss/draw cluster and a short training plan to keep the momentum going.
Highlights — what you did well
- Opening consistency: you get comfortable with your setups quickly (Bf4 / Nf3 / c3 style) and reach middlegames where you know the plans — see your success with the Caro-Kann Defense and London System: Poisoned Pawn Variation.
- Tactical alertness: in the win vs ChesterKV you found a sequence of knight jumps and exchanges that opened the king and led to a decisive mating net. You convert complicated tactics into concrete gains.
- Active piece play: rooks and knights are often on the squares that make threats — R‑e1 and R‑e6 in the first win show strong rook activation into the enemy camp.
- Conversion ability: against dhogmah you turned a kingside initiative into material and resignation — you see attacking routes and finish them cleanly.
- Mental trend: your rating slope and recent month gains show you’re learning and improving steadily. Keep that approach.
Key weaknesses to fix
- Time management / flag risk: your recent loss ended on time (opponent won on your clock). You reached winning or complex endgame positions but ran the clock down. Work on faster practical decisions in simplified positions and safe pre‑move use.
- Endgame technique under clock: pawn + rook endgames and promotion races in the loss show you can get into theoretically winning positions but need speed and simplification rules to convert with little time.
- Occasional overcomplication: when ahead you sometimes keep calculating long forced lines instead of simplifying to an easy-to-convert ending — trade when it reduces risk under low time.
- Opening oversights vs active counters: some games show you allowing counterplay (active enemy knights/queens) after you commit pawns; tighten move-order and prophylaxis in the opening to limit counterchances.
Concrete examples from recent games
- Win vs ChesterKV — excellent knight sacrifice and coordination (Nxe7 ideas + rook swing). You transformed piece activity into a mating finish (see this sequence in the final phase). Review that game with the board to catalogue the forcing motifs you used.
- Win vs dhogmah — strong kingside tactics and piece sacrifice patterns that opened the king. You converted cleanly by increasing pressure and swapping into winning material lines.
- Loss vs Charlie Creswell — the technical win slipped because of the clock. Endgame had advanced passed pawn and promotion race but you ran low on time. From this one: focus on making quick “good enough” moves when ahead on the clock and knowing simplifying trades that preserve wins.
Replay one of the wins (visualize tactical ideas) — here's the game vs ChesterKV for quick review:
30‑day improvement plan (practical & blitz‑friendly)
- Daily quick routine (20–30 minutes):
- 10 minutes tactics (fast puzzles, focus on forks, pins, back‑rank and knight forks).
- 10 minutes endgame drills (rook + pawn vs rook basics, promotion race patterns, opposition and outside passed pawn technique).
- 5–10 minutes reviewing one recent loss and one recent win — ask: “what winning plan could I have forced faster?”
- Weekly routine:
- 2 rapid (15+10) games where you deliberately practice converting + keep at least 5 minutes on the clock when up material.
- 1 session of 3‑5 blitz games where your only goal is time management — practice quick simplifications and safe trading when ahead.
- Concrete habits in games:
- When ahead and under 2 minutes, prefer simplifying trades that remove counterplay; avoid long sacrificial calculations unless forced.
- Use increment (if available) to your advantage: repeat simple forcing moves to build time (checks, captures when forcing).
- Disable risky pre‑moves in complex positions; pre‑moves only in very safe recaptures.
Targeted drills & study topics
- Tactics: knight forks, discovered checks, back‑rank motifs — 40 puzzles per week with increasing speed.
- Endgames: rook endgame module (Lucena and Philidor ideas), promotion race patterns. Short drills: 10 positions, 10 minutes total.
- Opening tune‑up: reinforce move orders that reduce opponent counterplay in your favorite systems. Drill the typical pawn breaks and a simple plan vs early ...c5 or ...g6 setups. Use the Caro-Kann Defense term to flag your favorite lines for review.
- Practical play: simulate low‑time endings (5+0 with the goal to convert up a pawn/rook) to practice making speedy, safe decisions under pressure — helps stop Flagging and Zeitnot losses.
Quick checklist before your next session
- Warm up with 5 tactical puzzles (2 minutes each).
- Play one 15+10 game aiming to keep at least 5 minutes after move 25.
- After each loss, tag whether it was tactical, technical, or time-related — if time, add a 10‑minute time‑management drill next day.
Motivation & next steps
Your rating slopes and recent +53 in a month show that your work is paying off. Focus on converting advantages faster and protecting your clock — that will turn many close games into consistent wins. If you want, I can:
- Build a 2‑week tactics + endgame microcycle tailored to your schedule.
- Annotate one of the loss games move‑by‑move with alternative quick plans to save time and win.
- Prepare a short booklet of 10 conversion templates (what to trade/simplify when ahead).
Want me to analyze one game in depth?
Tell me which game to deep‑dive (link or opponent): ChesterKV or Charlie Creswell — I’ll annotate key moments, suggest faster winning plans, and give a clock‑aware decision tree.