Adriana Nikolova WGM

Adriana, here’s your post-session report

1. What you’re doing well

• Sharp tactical vision. Four of your last five wins ended in direct mates or decisive tactical blows before move 30. Moves such as 24.Qd8# (Alapin win) and 29.Nh7# (Caro–Kann win) show quick pattern recognition.
• Opening versatility. You’ve handled 1.e4, 1.d4 and 1.g3 as White, and answered 1.e4 with both the Sicilian & Caro-Kann. This flexibility keeps opponents guessing.
• Piece activity emphasis. Many victories stem from rapid development and pressure on the seventh rank (e.g. 23.Rxf7 in the Caro–Kann crush).

2. Recurring issues to address

• Time trouble. Five of the six recent losses were on the clock. Good positions were spoiled simply because you didn’t leave yourself a safety buffer. time-pressure
• Over-extension of flank pawns. Several defeats (e.g. vs DiegoMoreno2007 and DynamicXess) began with ambitious g- or h-pawn thrusts that weakened king safety.
• End-game conversion. In the loss to poliplaza (Caro-Kann) you reached a rook & minor-piece ending where activity slipped away after 29…Kd6. Technique and tempo use can be refined. zugzwang

3. Opening snapshot

• Alapin Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.c3). You score well, but 9.a4 c4!? showed you were unfamiliar with the …c4 idea; study the model games Kramnik–Radjabov 2008 for plans after pawn locks.
• Sicilian Richter–Rauzer as Black. 9…Nxe4!? was nice, yet later you drifted (14…Be7–Bf6). Review the modern 9…Be6 main line to add solidity.
• Caro-Kann Breyer. When you were Black you mis-coordinated pieces and fell to 41.Rg8#. Spend one session on typical manoeuvres …c5/…Nc6 → …Nd4 to avoid cramped positions.

4. Action plan for the next two weeks

1. Clock discipline drill. Play 10 games of 1|1 or 3|2 where your only goal is to keep >10 seconds for every 10 moves. Ignore result, rate your time-usage afterwards.
2. Micro-endgame study. Solve 15 rook-and-pawn studies; focus on rook behind passed pawn and cutting the king. Then annotate the ending vs poliplaza, marking every missed zwischenzug.
3. Targeted opening refresh. Build a 15-position flash-card set:
   • 5 key ideas in the Alapin after …c4.
   • 5 critical Richter–Rauzer tabiyas (starting from 9.Bh4).
   • 5 Caro-Kann Breyer middlegame structures.
   Re-test yourself until you score 90 %+. Use each position as the starting point of a 5-minute engine-off analysis.

5. Motivation corner

Your tactical score is trending upward, and your current is within striking distance of the next milestone. A bit of clock management will convert many “time losses” into winning PGNs.

6. At-a-glance performance

Hover for trends:

Keep the pieces active and the clock under control — your next breakthrough is around the corner!