Coach Chesswick
Hi Akshat!
Below is a concise review of your recent blitz sessions together with clear next steps to keep your rating climbing.
1. Quick Snapshot
• Current peak blitz rating: 2890 (2018-04-13)
• Typical session times: see Hourly Win-Rate graph.
• Recent result streak: 5 wins followed by 6 losses.
2. What’s Working Well
- Initiative-first style. Your victories against Tuan Minh Le and Grigoriy Oparin show confident pawn storms and piece activity that keep opponents on the back foot.
- Tactical alertness. The sequence 24.Ne7+!! in the game below is vintage Akshat—spotting forcing moves that end the game instantly.
- Resourcefulness in messy positions. You often find perpetual-check ideas or liquidation tactics when the position starts to slip.
Example miniature (25.Qxh7#)
[[Pgn| 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Qe2 Be7 10.Rd1 O-O 11.c4 bxc4 12.Bxc4 Na5 13.Bd3 Nc5 14.Bc2 Qb8 15.Nc3 c6 16.Nd4 Nd7 17.Bf4 c5 18.Nf5 Bd8 19.Nxd5 Qxb2 20.Rdb1 Qa3 21.Bc1 Qxc1+ 22.Rxc1 Bxd5 23.Qd3 Bc4 24.Ne7+ Bxe7 25.Qxh7# 1-0 ]]3. Primary Growth Areas
- Clock discipline. Four of the six recent losses (e.g. vs Georg Meier) came from time forfeits despite level or better positions. Your average time spent per critical move is creeping above 10 seconds, which is high for a 3 + 2 game.
- Defence against early kingside pulls in the Italian / Giuoco Piano. In the loss to Zhamsaran Tsydypov you allowed Qh5–h3–h7/h5 ideas to linger too long. The line 7…Nxe4?! 8.O-O Bxc3 9.d5 etc. is risky; consider the calmer 7…d6 or 7…d5.
- End-game conversion with pawns. The resign-down games vs Andrey Esipenko and Georg show hesitation when playing winning pawn races. A few clean technique drills will patch this quickly.
4. Concrete Action Plan
- 60-minute “time-handicap” drill
Play 5 games of 3 + 2 where you must move within 3 seconds for the first 20 moves. Focus on playing solid sensible moves rather than the absolute best. The goal is to feel how much can be done quickly. - Patch the Italian as Black.
a) Add the line 6…d6 7.c3 0-0 8.h3 a5 (as recommended by theory).
b) Review the critical motif Nxe4 only when …d5 break is fully prepared.
c) Watch two recent games by Caruana with this setup and take notes. - Endgame sprinting.
Pick 20 king-and-pawn endgames from Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual. Solve each within 3 minutes; then replay the solution at least twice. Pay special attention to themes of opposition and outside passed pawn. - Post-session review protocol.
After every blitz set, choose one win and one loss, annotate them quickly (why each decision was made, possible alternatives), and store them in your own “Blitz Diary”. This habit builds pattern recognition faster than any engine check.
5. Key Concepts to Revisit
Prophylaxis • Exchange Sacrifice • Zeitnot • Zugzwang
6. Motivational Note
“When you see a good move, look for a quicker one.”
—Apply this every time the clock dips under 30 seconds.
Keep the pressure, trust your intuition, and clean up those final minutes. Good luck in the next Titled Tuesday!