Coach Chesswick
Hi Alavi_M, here is some personalised feedback on your recent play!
Quick snapshot
- Current peak (rapid): 1249 (2024-12-20)
- Typical session pattern:
- Weekly momentum:
What you’re doing well
- Fighting spirit. You never hesitate to look for mating ideas. Your 17-move win over ayu689 (see PGN below) shows excellent killer instinct once the enemy king is exposed.
- Tactical awareness in open positions. In your win vs. sardarhitesh, the sequence 17.Nd6+–28.Qxa8 demonstrated good calculation of forcing lines and material conversions.
- Piece activity. You often aim to put rooks on open files (e.g., 24.Ra3 and 27.Rxc3+). That habit will serve you well as you climb.
Main areas to improve
-
Opening fundamentals.
• Many games begin with early pawn pushes like h4/h5 or …h5/…a5. While fun, they ignore the center and piece development.
• Try a simple structure instead: 1.e4/1.d4 followed by developing knights and bishops, then castling. Your early resignation vs. nath_47 (4.Qd6? Bxd6) is a reminder that unfamiliar lines can back-fire quickly. -
King safety.
• Several losses arise because you delay castling or push pawns in front of your monarch (e.g., …f6, …g5 in the game against knightlark).
• Heuristic: castle by move 10 unless you have a concrete reason not to. -
Avoiding big blunders.
• At this rating, most decisive results stem from a single overlooked threat. Build the habit of a 3-second blunder check before every move: “What is my opponent’s last move attacking? What will my move leave undefended?” That alone cuts many errors such as 4.Qd6?? and 27…Qxf1?? (vs. ayushshahi22). -
Time management.
• Two recent defeats were “loss on time” in winning or drawable positions. Try glancing at the clock every 3–4 moves and aim to keep at least one minute for the final 10 moves. -
End-game technique.
• When you reach simplified positions (K+R+P endgame vs. ayushshahi22) convert the advantage by centralising the king and pushing passed pawns, rather than hunting pawns with your rook only.
Targeted drills for the coming week
- Tactics: 15 minutes/day on fork, pin and back-rank themes (fork, pin).
- Mini-opening repertoire: Learn the first 6 moves of the Italian Game (as White) and the Scandinavian Defence (as Black) so you start with solid piece play.
- End-game basics: Practise the “Lucena” and “Philidor” rook end-game setups—just 10 minutes of study can save many half-points.
Game of the day – your swift 17-move checkmate
Next steps
Play two daily games focusing on strict opening discipline, then review them immediately afterwards. Combine that with your tactical training and you should be ready to push past the 800 mark very soon. Good luck, and enjoy the journey!