LEONARD S DICKERSON NM

Hi Leonard!

Great job keeping an active schedule and consistently challenging strong bots! Your recent games show solid strategic understanding of the London-System set-ups and an improving feel for long end-games. Below you’ll find targeted feedback designed to convert more of those promising middles into wins.

✅ What you already do well

• End-game technique. Your wins against Sakura-BOT show confident king activation and systematic conversion of extra material.
• Piece activity from the opening. Early development with Bf4/Bg5 followed by rapid castling keeps your pieces coordinated.
• Clock management. In 45 + 45 you usually keep 15-20 minutes for the critical late middlegame—excellent discipline.

⚠️ Patterns in recent losses

1. Neglecting the b2-pawn & back-rank.
   In both Pirc and Pseudo-Pirc structures (22 July) Black’s queen swooped to b2/b4 after you played Qd2 & O-O-O. The resulting material loss forced early resignation.
2. Over-optimistic king safety when castling long.
   You often castle opposite sides but postpone your own pawn storm. Meanwhile …Qb6/Qxb2 or …c5 breaks open files toward your king.
3. Missed forcing tactics.
   Several games ended after simple forks or queen infiltrations (e.g. 21 July Caro-Kann: 19…Qxb2+). These are classic intermediate-level tactics that a quick calculation or a blunder-check would catch.

🎯 Training plan

• Daily tactic reps: 15–20 puzzles focused on forks, pins & deflections. Filter by 1400-1900 rating to mirror positions you actually face. (See tactics).
• Opening hygiene vs Pirc Defense: Play 6.Be2 instead of Bf4 when you plan O-O-O; it guards b5/b7 ideas and keeps the queen off b2. Review model games by Carlsen & Grischuk for structure.
• Opposite-side castling drill: Set up a sparring position after 10…b5 (Pirc) and practise a 5-move pawn storm plan (h4–h5–hxg / g4-g5) until it becomes automatic. Understanding opposite-side castling principles will raise your conversion rate sharply.
• Post-game blunder check: Spend 5 minutes with an engine only to tag critical moments. Write one sentence: “I missed …Qxb2 because ____.” This habit rapidly shrinks repeated errors.

📊 Personal progress snapshots

Peak Rapid rating: 2028 (2025-10-24)

When do you score best? Explore your own data:

🏆 Model game to keep

Your 21 July win demonstrates excellent central control and an instructive rook ending. Save it for reference:

Next steps (1-week goals)

1. Finish 100 tactical puzzles with 80 % accuracy.
2. Annotate two of your own opposite-side castling games (one win, one loss).
3. Play one training game where you consciously keep your king on the same side as your opponent to practise same-side safety.

Keep enjoying the journey, Leonard. Small, consistent tweaks will have your rating climbing again in no time. Reach out anytime you’d like a deeper dive into a specific position or opening.

Good luck & good moves!