Aku Salonen FM

Overall Performance Review

Aku Salonen, your recent blitz games show a win rate slightly above 50% against strong competition, which is a solid foundation to build on. Your strength adjusted win rate of approximately 50.2% reflects competitive steady play, but there is clear room for improvement to consistently outperform your opponents.

Your rating changes over the last 6 months indicate some fluctuations, with a modest 1 point increase this last month but a slight overall decline (-12 points over 6 months). The short-term trends show some positive slope recently, suggesting your play quality is picking up, although the 3-month trend was negative. Maintaining positive momentum will be key.

Strengths

• Good opening preparation, especially with the Sicilian and Modern defenses demonstrated in your wins, which shows you start games actively with solid positions.
• Aggressive and energetic middlegame play, frequently leveraging tactical opportunities after opening clarifications.
• Effective use of pawns and pieces coordination, often transitioning well into the endgame with accurate play leading to opponent resignations.

Areas for Improvement

• In the losses, some key weaknesses emerged in handling pressure in the middle and endgame phases, especially against opponents who posed tricky positional challenges or strong piece activity.
• Consider sharpening your defensive skills, as seen where opponents seized advantages by exploiting less optimal piece placements or pawn weaknesses.
• Time management: Some losses exhibited sharp timing pressure which can lead to mistakes. Developing a more balanced clock strategy will help reduce blunders.
• Opponent pressure handling: A few games show early king safety issues or passive moves under attack. Making sure to maintain solid defenses and counterattack options can help in these high-pressure moments.

Opening Insights

You tend to favor openings like the Sicilian Defense, Modern Defense, and Caro-Kann Defense. These are excellent strategic choices, giving you solid control and counterplay.

Suggestions:

• Continue refining your knowledge in these systems, especially the pawn structures and key tactical motifs.
• Review lines where you lost material or position—understanding common traps and pitfalls can help avoid these ahead.
• Experiment with variations to surprise opponents and deepen your familiarity with middle-game plans specific to these openings.

Next Steps for Progress

• Analyze losses: Spend time reviewing the critical moments where the position shifted in your opponents' favor; focus on missed defensive resources and alternative plans.
• Endgame practice: Solidify endgame technique through targeted drills to convert better positions decisively.
• Improve time management: Try practicing with increment clocks in training to get comfortable making strong moves under time pressure.
• Study tactical patterns: Enhance your tactical vision by working through puzzles reflecting the themes seen in your games (e.g., pins, forks, discovered attacks).

Keep leveraging your strong opening preparation and aggressive playstyle while raising your resilience during challenging positions. With consistent study and focus on these areas, your positive rating trajectory can continue!

Resources

• Review games with coaches or stronger players focusing on key turning points.
• Use tactical trainers daily to sharpen short-term calculation skills.
• Deepen opening repertoire knowledge by consulting reliable theory databases for your chosen systems.
• Practice endgames with specific themes like rook endings, king activity, and pawn breakthroughs.